MANCINI'S SALE OF CENTURY
ROBERTO MANCINI needs a frantic five-week fire sale to offload up to £130million worth of stars and comply with Premier League rules.
The Manchester City manager has 37 first-team players but has just over a month to meet the new requirement for a maximum 25-man squad.
It means the likes of Craig Bellamy, who has been linked with Spurs, Nigel De Jong, bought for £16m, and the unsettled Stephen Ireland could all leave for knockdown prices before the squad list is submitted to the Premier League on September 1.
And with Mancini, who has assessed his playing staff during City's pre-season tour of the United States, set to conclude a deal for Aston Villa's James Milner, he is desperate to get the bulk of those players out of the door at Eastlands within 20 days.
He said: "I know that we must sell some players because in 20 days we must have a list with 25 players. I am disappointed because some players must change teams now. It is difficult for them to play for us.
"When you play in four competitions you must have a large squad because if not you have difficulties. For this it's important we have 25 players."
The new rule is that each club must register a squad of 25 players with the Premier League - eight of which must be 'home grown'.
To qualify as 'home grown', players must have played for at least three seasons before reaching 21 with a club affiliated to either the English or Welsh FA.
Once registered, only these 25 players can feature in Premier League games until the next transfer window, although players who are still under 21 do not have to be registered and can still play.
City have bought mainly experienced players as they attempt to gatecrash the Premier League elite. Now they have a list of around a dozen players for whom they would listen to offers.
Bellamy, a £14m buy from West Ham, is rated at only £4m, while Ireland made it clear at the end of last season that he wanted out.
He is valued at between £12-15m and has attracted interest from Aston Villa as well as admiring glances from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
Wayne Bridge's position has also come under threat following this week's £17m signing of left-back Alexsander Kolarov from Lazio. The former Chelsea and England defender was signed for £10m in January 2009 but will not be happy at being second choice.
Brazilian superstar Robinho, bought from Real Madrid for a record £32.5m on the day of the Abu Dhabi Group's takeover in August 2008, is still out on loan at Santos and has no intention of rejoining City before finding a new club. City could be looking at taking a hit of up to £15m if, as expected, they sell him for less than £20m.
The squad is overstocked in the defensive midfield position, which has led to talk that Dutch World Cup hero De Jong may move on. The player was signed from Hamburg in January 2009 but must now compete with new signing Yaya Toure, England international Gareth Barry and even Patrick Vieira for a place in Mancini's starting side.
Pablo Zabaleta and Vincent Kompany were also bought as defensive midfielders when they arrived at Eastlands just weeks before the takeover.
England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, not a regular starter under Mancini, is another tipped for a possible departure after the breakdown of his contract talks. Wright-Phillips is two years through a four-year deal and has turned down an extension worth £70,000 a week after initially demanding £100,000 a week.
Academy graduate Nedum Onuoha and former England prodigy Micah Richards are also likely to leave before the season kicks off at Spurs on August 14.
Onuoha said at the end of last season that he doesn't think Mancini appreciates him, while Richards has not shown the form in the past two years that propelled him into Steve McClaren's England side at just 17.
Sunderland, Spurs, Everton and Aston Villa have shown interest in the pair and City would be happy to receive around £12m for both.
Not all the players on the list will leave and Mancini will try to trim his squad by sending young fringe players such as Vladimir Weiss, Kelvin Etuhu, Greg Cunningham and the talented Michael Johnson out on loan to gain first-team experience.
Brazilian striker Jo, a disastrous £18m signing in the weeks leading up to the Abu Dhabi buyout, is not wanted and City will be lucky to recoup a fraction of their outlay. Ecuadorian striker Felipe Caicedo has also been told to find another club.
The expected losses, which could top £40m, emphasise the club's lack of awareness in the transfer market during the first 18 months of the takeover.
As well as Robinho, it is widely accepted they paid over the odds for Joleon Lescott, at £24m, Roque Santa Cruz, who cost £17.5m, and Kolo Toure, who did not impress in his first season after leaving Arsenal for £16m.
The jury is still out on Emmanuel Adebayor, who also arrived from the Emirates last summer - for £25m - after he scored just 14 goals last term.
HARRY TO HIJACK JAMES FROM CITY'S CLUTCHES
Spurs ready to swoop in for £24million Mancini target Milner
TOTTENHAM are ready to hijack Manchester City's £24million move for James Milner.
The midfielder is one of three players boss Harry Redknapp has targeted to drive his Champions League campaign.
He has already made a £20million bid for Aston Villa's Ashley Young and remains hopeful of bringing in Craig Bellamy from Manchester City.
Now Redknapp plans to step in if City's latest bid for Milner is turned down as City are adamant they will not make an increased third offer.
Redknapp is confident the lure of playing in Europe's elite competition could persuade Milner, 24, to come to London.
Spurs first offered £18m for Milner's Villa pal Young, 25, last summer but Villa valued him at £30m. But the winger is now keen on a move and chairman Randy Lerner has told manager Martin O'Neill he must sell before he can buy.
Redknapp, who has yet to make a signing this summer, could pick up Bellamy, 31, for £4m in the City firesale.
And he has also confirmed his interest in Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano, 29, as Sport of the World reported last month.
He said: "I like Fabiano, he is a top player. If he is available at the right price I would be interested."
Manchester City to show English trio the door as Roberto Mancini wields axe over several stars
Moneybags Manchester City are planning a massive dressing-room clear-out as manager Roberto Mancini looked like taking his summer spending towards the £100million-mark yesterday.
England internationals Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge are among the high-profile names Mancini wants out of Eastlands as the Italian started to wield the axe on the most expensively-assembled squad in the Premier League.
City’s summer spree topped £75m last night with the capture of Serbia’s World Cup full-back Alexander Kolarov from Lazio.
And Mancini, who has already written huge cheques to snare Jerome Boateng, David Silva and Yaya Toure in recent weeks, is not finished there, with Inter Milan’s Italy Under-21 striker Mario Balotelli still on his radar before the season starts in three weeks. The clubs are still in talks over a possible £24m move for the 19-year-old.
It all means that in addition to the England trio, City will also listen to offers for a host of star names, including Craig Bellamy, Stephen Ireland, Roque Santa Cruz, Jo and Felipe Caicedo.
Since the end of last season Martin Petrov nd Valeri Bojinov have already been shown the door by Mancini.
‘The situation is the same as what happens at other clubs when there are new signings,’ said a club source on Saturday night.
‘There will be those who may not figure in the manager’s plans and will want to move on. Obviously, the club will not want to keep players who don’t want to stay.’
Bridge’s position as City’s first-choice left-back has clearly been undermined by the £19m signing of 24-year-old Kolarov, while there are several midfielders, including Vladimir Weiss, Kelvin Etuhu and Michael Johnson — none of whom made a single Premier League start last season — who are now right out of Mancini’s plans and likely to be moved on.
The manager tried to distance himself from the possibility of a fire sale on Saturday by insisting he wants two players for each position, yet Kolarov’s arrival means City now have a staggering 39 players in their first-team squad.
Weiss set to discuss Man City future
Vladimir Weiss is set for talks over his future at Manchester City.
Weiss is to meet with Roberto Mancini to see if he figures in his Manchester City plans.
"I've got three years left on my contract. I'm going to try to stay at City if possible," Weiss told the Manchester Evening News.
"But I need to have a chat with the manager and see how pre-season goes.
"I don't really know what's going to happen at the moment. I've not spoken to the manager yet - I've only just got back to training. We will see what happens."
Mancini has significantly bolstered his attacking options this summer but Weiss is relishing the challenge of trying to push for a place in the team.
"It's great," he said. "I've just got back from the World Cup and I want to play regularly now.
"We'll see how the pre-season goes and then we'll take it from there."
Everton to offer Mikel Arteta club-record deal to keep him from switching to Manchester City Everton are set to make Mikel Arteta the highest paid player in Toffee’s history in order to keep him from making a move to Manchester City this summer.
Toffees boss David Moyes is worried that some of his best players are being eyed by their Premier League rivals, with City targeting Arteta and Arsenal interested in Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar.
According to the Daily Mail, Arteta will be offered £75,000-a-week to remain with Everton, who he joined from Real Sociedad five years ago.
The 28-year-old Spaniard returned to the side in January after missing almost a year with a knee ligament injury, Arteta quickly returned to form for the first team, scoring six goal in 13 appearances for the club last season.
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has made it clear that defender Ashley Cole will be staying at Stamford Bridge, despite interest from Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho. Sunday Mirror
Mourinho is preparing to make one last-ditch attempt to sign midfielder Steven Gerrard from Liverpool and has instructed the Real Madrid hierarchy to offer £30m. Mail on Sunday
Arsenal remain keen to sign Everton's defender Phil Jagielka despite having had a £10m bid turned down. Mail on Sunday
But Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has turned down the chance to sign England goalkeeper David James, paving the way for the former Portsmouth man to join Celtic. Mail on Sunday
Wenger is instead ready to make a bid for Ajax and Netherlands keeper Maarten Stekelenburg. News of the World
French striker Loic Remy may be denied a move to the Premier League by former club Lyon, who have 48 hours to match any offer by West Ham, Liverpool and Arsenal if cash-strapped Nice agree to sell. Mail on Sunday
Stoke are lining up a £4m-raid on Portsmouth for Ghanaian midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng. Sunday Mirror
Wigan, Blackburn and Stoke are all trailing 24-year-old Marseille striker Mamadou Samassa, who is available on a free transfer after his contract expired. News of the World
Sunderland have joined Everton in the race to sign FC Nordsjaelland striker Nicki Bille Nielsen. News of the World
Stoke midfielder Michael Tonge is wanted by Cardiff, Nottingham Forest and Scottish champions Rangers. Sunday Mirror
OTHER BOLLOX
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill will consider his future at the club if there is any attempt to sell forward Ashley Young behind his back. Sunday Mirror
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson says there is nothing more he can do to keep Spanish striker Fernando Torres at Liverpool. "His beef is with the club and not me," said Hodgson. News of the World
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp wants the club's board to back him in the transfer market and not waste the opportunity to propel Spurs into the Premier League elite. Sunday Mirror
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will hold showdown talks with Cesc Fabregas, who is wanted by Barcelona, next week to decide the Spanish midfield star's future. Sunday Mirror
According to Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta, Fabregas is set to stay at Arsenal this season because of his close relationship with the Gunners fans. News of the World
It would have cost Fulham £8.4m to bring Ajax manager Martin Jol to Craven Cottage last week. However, the cost would have been £1.5m had they sealed a deal between 1 June and 1 July, in accordance with the former Tottenham boss' contract. Sunday Mirror
Midfielder Ryan Giggs believes his Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson can still be in charge of the Old Trafford club in five years time, when the Scot reaches the age of 75.News of the World
Bradford manager Peter Taylor is on the shortlist of candidates for a place in the new coaching set-up of England manager Fabio Capello. Sunday Mirror
Faced with the prospect of a backlash from fans following his side's dismal World Cup performance, Capello is ready to make a plea to the nation to back the team ahead of next month's friendly against Hungary at Wembley.Sunday Mirror
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