Shaunny Wright-right-right?

Manchester City have made an official bid in the region of £10m to bring Shaun Wright-Phillips back from Chelsea. The winger has become Mark Hughes' top priority for the final week of a transfer window in which City, for all their financial issues, could conceivably finish as the highest spenders in the Premier League.

>>guardian.co.uk

Seemingly every lead up to a transfer deadline contains all sorts of speculation regarding Shaun Wright-Phillips, and it appears to be no different this time around with under a week remaining until the window closes until January.

I've not seen it reported anywhere else apart from the Guardian link that we have made an official bid, but The Guardian has been accurate with the Jo and Ben Haim moves over the summer so I'd be inclined to lend some weight to it, with other reports suggesting a battle between ourselves, Everton and Portsmouth.

The vast majority of Blues would no doubt be delighted to welcome him back, and whilst it would appear to be a great move (both in terms of quality and the need for a right-sided player) and one which I certainly think is worth at least a loan deal for a season (although Chelsea are reportedly preferring a permanent switch) there are some concerns over this.

It is fair to say that since leaving City his career has stalled (if not been derailed) as he struggled to gain the confidence and favour of Jose Mourinho (with it reported he was a Kenyon buy, not a Mourinho one). He appeared to have difficulty fitting into Mourinho's system and when he was called upon, did not play with the verve and confidence he showed at City.

When he was with us, he was a fantastic talent and a real lone shining light in what was in the end a struggling team that relied so much on him. He certainly hasn't progressed in any way at Chelsea and you do wonder if we did get the best out of him and that at £24 million it represented fantastic business for us.

He doesn't appear to be disillusioned with life at Chelsea, at no time complaing over his (lack of) playing time or wanting to move to resurrect a career that you would expect a player who had become so marginalised to do.

Even his (never shy of an opinion) dad has said on a number of occasions that he needs to get out of Stamford Bridge, and looking at the England set up, the fact that David Beckham is still in the side is indication enough to say Wright-Phillips could have had another 2o or so caps under his belt by now rather than looking some way off the international game.

With reports that he does not favour a move back to Manchester, how committed and how motivated would he be to join us given that he has seemed to be satisfied on the fringes at Chelsea rather than beating a path into the first team or elsewhere? Is there still that desire inside of him or has his appetite been sated by a few seasons of ignominy as an outcast at Stamford Bridge?

With Mark Hughes building a team to move forward, should we really looking to the past?