Clear out planned

MARK Hughes is ready to wield the axe in a bid to break into the top six next season.

The City boss will radically overhaul his squad, with a number of star signings expected to arrive in the summer.

Up to 16 senior players will be heading out of Eastlands as with the Blues ready to again be one of Europe's major players when the transfer window opens, the club is keen to clear the decks.

Those departures, added to fresh funds provided by ambitious and committed owner Sheikh Mansour, will raise cash and free up wages for the Blues' top transfer targets.

City chief Hughes, who seems sure to keep hold of the managerial reins despite constant rumours to the contrary, has so far had only 24 hours plus the notoriously difficult January transfer window to spend Sheikh Mansour's millions on the men he wants to help the Blues gatecrash the `big four' dominance.

>>MEN.

This following on from yesterday's speculation with regards to potential arrivals, and the sooner normal service is resumed the better as international breaks really do leave you scratching around for news.

No real surprises on the list in the article and all appear surplus to requirements given the expected arrivals for next season. I'd imagine that most of the press focus as to who may be leaving the club over the summer though will focus entirely on a certain Brazilian.

Speculation time again

Mark Hughes, the City manager, has identified Ribéry among an ambitious list of potential end-of-season targets that includes John Terry, Thierry Henry and Roque Santa Cruz. Despite his public statements to the contrary, Hughes is also open-minded about letting Robinho leave and one option discussed at length in both Manchester and Abu Dhabi is for City to offer the Brazilian in a player-plus-cash exchange for Terry or Ribéry.

>>guardian.co.uk

Fabio Cannavaro is set to snub a move to Manchester City after insisting he does not want to quit Real Madrid.

The veteran defender is reported to have been targeted by City as they attempt to shore up their defence for next season.

Boss Mark Hughes is considering bringing in an experienced international to play alongside the likes of Micah Richards.

>>mail online

It didn't take long for a brief lull in Premier League action to get the 'City to sign everyone' stories circulating once again.

Given an international free summer though, don't expect it to change anytime soon though.

January window recap

A relief in some respects now that the January window has been and gone.

During the month (and leading up to it I guess) we were very much the hot topic in the media, with plenty of negativity (jealousy?) surrounding us and our attempts at reinforcing the side. So much has been written and speculated that trying to keep up with everything going on was a tough task.

We arrived at the opening of the window in a state of flux, criticism of Hughes from fans and media alike growing and were soon dumped out of the FA Cup with a dismal performance at home to Nottingham Forest.

Despite some bumps along the way, what is clear is that we are in a far stronger position as bid adieu to January than we were at the beginning of 2009. The quartet who have been signed are of a similar disposition - solid internationals, experience at the top level but still with good years ahead of them.

In addition to the new arrivals, we also have three of our long term injured players in Michael Johnson, Valeri Bojinov and Martin Petrov on the way back, players we have clearly missed over the first half of the season and should provide a real strength in depth to the squad.

Who arrived?

Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy and Shay Given arrived during January, and all four strengthen not only the squad, but the first choice eleven. Bridge, although culpable for two goals so far, is a better option than Javier Garrido, and most definitely an upgrade on Michael Ball. Nigel de Jong's impact will be two fold. Both as an impressive holding/defensive midfielder in his own right, but also in allowing Vincent Kompany to drop back and improve the central defensive area.

I wasn't overly enthused with the prospect of Bellamy the footballer arriving (let alone Bellamy the person), wondering how he would fit into the line-up, but having seen him in two games so far he does offer something different than the other forwards we have on the books. My misgivings about Shay Given have been well documented, but he is a good goalkeeper. Quite how good he is, and how much of an upgrade over Joe Hart he will be is something I will be keen to see, but if Hughes was intent on bringing in a 'keeper then unless we were going to splash £100 million on Gigi Buffon then Given is clearly the best option that we had.

Who didn't arrive?

Two big names - Kaka and Roque Santa Cruz, both of which ended frustratingly. The pursuit of Kaka was well documented with some of what was written about our attempt to sign him bordered on the disgraceful.

Perhaps we did make our approach for him too early in our 'project', but when you have an opportunity to sign arguably the best player in the world you cannot pass that up. Yes, it was always going to be a long shot, but one that was surely worth exploring.

Today's Roque Santa Cruz news was a microcosm of the whole pursuit of the player. The signing being off, then on, before falling through at the last. The reported fee of £25 million was way in excess of what his value is, but we are not operating in a normal market. We do need the player, and without an alternative being brought in run the risk of lacking the presence Hughes so desperately wants over the course of the season.

Seeing some of the deals that have been concluded, you do wonder though why both ourselves and Santa Cruz (given his desire to sign for us) weren't more forceful in pushing the signing through.

If Hughes is still keen on landing Santa Cruz in the summer though, Sam Allardyce and Blackburn could rue turning down the reported £20 million as I don't see them getting an offer anywhere near that figure in the future.

Without question though, this is now very much Hughes's side. The team is now made up of players he has either brought to the club or his type of player. His future is still unsettled though as the season so far has been a disappointment overall.

Heading into February, we are sat in mid-table and despite the talk of relegation for me that is not an issue. Looking up, we are five points off 7th position at present with FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup in a couple of weeks time.

The owners have shown a patient approach so far since taking over the club, and the January signings do point to being Hughes's ones as opposed to the marquee signings believed to be favoured by ownership.

Clearly questions remain at this point, and Hughes has a job on his hands to win over the many doubters amongst the fan base, and with no off-field distraction now the window has closed, focus will firmly be on what happens on the pitch.

Putting a positive spin on our current position though we do have an opportunity to ensure that the 2008/09 season ends up being a relatively succesful one.

For Hughes's long term future prospects, it may need to be.

Transfer deadline day - 2 hours to go

From premierleague.com:

The Premier League have extended the transfer window subject to certain conditions.

The Premier League has announced that it will grant applications from clubs to complete transactions after the 5.00pm deadline providing that:

* the Board receives email confirmation from the two Clubs involved (including, for the avoidance of doubt, a foreign club if one is involved) that a deal has been agreed in principle; and

* the Club signing the player can satisfy the Board that the prevailing weather conditions have prevented the signing from being completed by the 5.00pm deadline.

I'm not sure it will involve ourselves, but with only two hours remaining we are fast running out of time to conclude any deals.

No update on Santa Cruz one way or the other, but I still have a feeling we will still come away with another deal before the deadline.

Or is that wishful thinking?

Transfer deadline day - 3 hours to go

Nothing on the official site as yet, but the Liverpool Daily Post are reporting that the Jo loan deal has been completed, and that he will train with Everton today.

I guess this is a win-win for us in that given Jo has fallen well down the pecking order as the season has progressed, he would be doing no more than warming the bench for us so. Given Everton's striking crisis, he should see some decent playing time so the hope is that he can discover some form and return a better player in the summer. And I suppose it does put him in the shop window if there are any clubs interested in signing him on a permanent basis.

The BBC's live tracker (at 13.05) are suggesting that the Santa Cruz deal is dead in the water, with Sky Sports News reporting we failed to match Rovers' valuation of £25 million. Interesting as I have maintained the deal would be completed. If Santa Cruz is not coming, are the club working other avenues?

Transfer deadline day - 5 hours to go

Unsurprisingly in the wake of Shay Given's arrival, Kasper Schmeichel is seeking an escape route, with his agent confirming:

"The top priority is to find a club where Kasper will be
allowed to play for the rest of the season.
"What will happen later is
something we'll see in the summer."

No other updates from the previous hour, but it is being suggested the 5pm deadline could be extended given the weather that has hit the country over the past twenty-four hours. The Premier League are believed to be "exploring the possibility" of extending the deadline with Fifa and the Football Association.

Sunday transfer round up - 24 hours to go

Less than 24 hours to go now, and with Shay Given reported to be undergoing a medical at the club today, it remains to be seen whether any further new faces arrive at the club before the 5pm deadline passes.

Smart money would still be on Roque Santa Cruz arriving, despite Friday's bid being rejected by Blackburn and I do think he will be signed tomorrow as the two clubs will reach agreement on a fee.

A pair of interesting stories today suggesting it is almost certain that Tal Ben Haim and Jo will be on their way out of the club, with the BBC suggesting Ben Haim will head for Sunderland, possibly on loan:

Sunderland are set to sign Manchester City's Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim.

The 26-year-old central-back has been involved in just nine Premier League games this season, and is keen for more regular first-team football.

This one makes sense given Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia was at Bolton on the coaching staff during Ben Haim's time there, and it is patently clear the Israeli has no future at the club, with him believed to be behind the player revolt against Hughes.

Jo is more intriguing however, with Everton's dearth of striking options seeing the Telegraph reporting he will head to Goodison Park until the end of the season:

The clubs are understood to be in talks over a proposed loan transfer which would see 21-year-old Jo move to Goodison Park for the rest of the season.

Brazilian striker Jo joined City in the summer from CSKA Moscow but has struggled to find form for Mark Hughes' team.

The former Corinthians frontman had been a huge success in Russian football and City paid around £19 million to bring him to Eastlands.

Despite his struggles since his arrival, I didn't think we would allow Jo to leave on loan, preferring to try and recoup some of the fee by way of a permanent deal. However, potential suitors may be in short supply so Hughes may feel that giving Jo a chance at another Premier League side may help in his long term development and benefit both the club and player with him seeing more playing time than he will do with ourselves.

Sunday transfer round up - Richards to Arsenal?

Biggest 'story' circulating around today concerns Micah Richards, amidst a reported £7 milion bid from Arsenal. This of course following on from reports at the end of last week linking him with both Wigan and Bolton.

I don't see a situation where Mark Hughes sanctions his departure, and certainly not for a fee of just £7 million. Arseblogger summarily dismisses this link too.

One interesting point worth speculating on though with this story is that it doesn't appear as though Richards and Vincent Kompany have forged the best of relationships, and given the acquisition of Nigel de Jong seems to point to Kompany moving back into defence, could this be something Hughes may factor in?

We were discussed quite extensively on Sky Sports 'Sunday Supplement' this morning, amongst other things discussing Richards. Ian McGarry from The Sun was on the programme and struck as being very 'anti-City'. Remarkably, he suggested that Richards needs to leave the club in order "to get more games". During the programme, he also stated it was well known that Mark Hughes would not be in charge next season and that Robinho was "desperate" to leave the club - so much so that he has come back from Brazil early in order to try and engineer a move.

Make of all that what you will.

UPDATE 17:38 - Sky Sports have an article and video up on their site featuring McGarry's comments:

The Shay Given link has surfaced again today, partly because of reports suggesting David James could move to Newcastle as a replacement for the soon to be departed Given. From what I've read of James, he appears settled on the South Coast so I don't see him moving up to the North-East - especially given Newcastle's current plight.

With just a week to go though before the window shuts for the season, I'd imagine there will be avenues being explored right until the deadline a week tomorrow. Strongest links of course remain Shay Given and Roque Santa Cruz, and I would still be surprised if deals were not concluded.

Although we have two games this week (Newcastle on Wednesday and Stoke on Sunday), expect transfer news to dominate the headlines this week as things heat up before the window shuts at 5pm on February 2nd.

Thursday transfer round up - who we didn't get

Pretty much identical pieces in both The Guardian and Independent today, stating that prior to our failed bid for Kaka we went after several high profile players, including Thierry Henry, Gigi Buffon, David Villa and David Silva.

The constant theme with all of our interest appears to be the potential selling clubs hiking up the asking price knowing the limitless funds at our disposal.

From The Guardian:

Backed by their billionaire owners in Abu Dhabi, a delegation from Eastlands went to Valencia in December to make it known they wanted to sign Villa and his Spain team-mate David Silva from the La Liga club. City were willing to pay around £100m but pulled out, as a point of principle, when Valencia asked for £135m. "They wanted us to bankroll their club for the next four seasons," said one of the men involved in the deal.

A City delegation also travelled to Turin to open talks with Juvenus for Buffon, the Italy goalkeeper. Juventus wanted a figure close to £100m and, again, City withdrew from the negotiations, suspecting the Italian club were trying to take advantage of what has become known in football circles as "the Manchester City effect".

And The Independent:

The inflated financial demands that Manchester City have faced in their pursuit of players in this transfer window have forced them to walk away from three deals, with hopes of signing the Valencia duo David Villa and David Silva dashed, along with the pursuit of Lassana Diarra, who left Portsmouth for Real Madrid for £20m.

Regardless of whether we decided 'not to be anybody's fool' as Garry Cook put it, as shown with Kaka, I'm not convinced that we are quite able to pull off player recruitment of this calibre at this stage of our progress. Still, I don't think we deserve the criticism or derision that has come our way for these pursuits, and as Mark Hughes said, we should actually be applauded for aiming high.

Elsewhere, Robinho's recent escapade has brought rumours of his departure back to the forefront, with speculation that we could attempt to move for Didier Drogba (and others) in return. This has been dismissed already by Hughes, and I think this is a non-starter and more likely than not a piece of mischief making.

An interesting rumour that was in todays Mail linked Felipe Caicedo. Not a great amount of detail around the story but interesting that it is something we would consider given he moved up in the pecking order with a recent impressive spell in the line-up. Perhaps though, Hughes thinks he may be dispensable given the other options available to him and could get a decent return.

Sunday transfer round up - something new

A quiet weekend all round really with the postponement of yesterday's game at Portsmouth coupled with not much of note on the transfer front speculated - as you'd expect really over a weekend with most of the media attention focused on the action on the field.

A couple of new names linked with moves in and out of the club though, with us being touted as a possible destination for Andrei Arshavin. Since rising to prominence on the back of Zenit's UEFA Cup triumph last season and then a (mostly) successful European Championships he has been linked with moves to all and sundry.

A move to Arsenal was expected this January, but there appears to some haggling over the fee and/or personal terms so it is possible we could sneak in ahead of them to his signature. I would be surprised if we were interested though. It seems a classic case of another clubs name being thrown into the mix to elicit a higher bid from interested parties. Besides, as good a player as he may be - although given his age (27) you do wonder why he hasn't 'broke through' earlier - it is difficult to see quite where he would fit into our line up and surely our priorities lie elsewhere?

Jo has been touted as a player who has fallen foul of Mark Hughes, with a couple of destinations speculated, but it is the first time I have heard Newcastle linked with him.

The Mail suggests a loan until the end of the season being a possibility. The article also speculates Portsmouth may want to take Benjani on a similar deal, and that we would encourage a bid from Tottenham for Richard Dunne.

I'd suggest that all three possibilities are nonesense. No way do we counter the possibility of loaning Jo or Benjani to a fellow Premier League side whilst as bad as Dunne's form has been, if Dunne exits, who do play there?

As we hit the halfway mark of the transfer window, lets hope for a more prosperous week than the one we have just had as time is beginning to tick away.

Saturday transfer round up - Hughes forced abroad

According to The Daily Mail, both Mark Hughes and the clubs backers are becoming increasingly frustrated over the desire of clubs we are negotiating with attempting to over inflate the fee of players we are interested in:

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is considering shopping abroad in the transfer window because Premier League clubs are pricing themselves out of the market.

Hughes and the club's billionaire backers from Abu Dhabi have reached the end of their tether after being stunned to learn it will cost them more than £15million each to sign defenders Joleon Lescott of Everton and West Ham's Matthew Upson.

Much like the current situation with Roque Santa Cruz, despite have unlimited reserves to spend there does have to be some sense applied when buying players - and surely fees in excess of £15 million for the players we are interested in are wildly excessive?

It does make you wonder though if there is a Plan B that the club have to fall back on given that we are almost approaching the half way point of the window and the frustration at the club is clearly growing over the inability to bring players in.

The article also suggests this is having a knock on effect on certain players as it is leaving them unsure of their future roles at the club.

A report in The Guardian indicates that target Craig Bellamy would prefer a move to Tottenham due to the fact he believes he has a greater chance of first team football. A logical thought and I haven't altered my opinion that character issues aside, I just don't see where he fits into our side.

The Express this morning ran a piece suggesting a gentlemans agreement was in place between the club and Michael Owen whereby he would join the club in the summer on the proviso that we remained in the Premier League and he remained fit for the remainder of this season.

A fully fit Owen seems a good pick up to me and you would he would guarantee goals in a side creating as many opportunities as ourselves. However, fitness has to be a concern and he does not possess a good record against the top four sides - a definite worry if we are to have ambitions of Champions League football.

Parker and Santa Cruz set to arrive

A couple of reports have emerged this evening suggesting that in the early part of this week we should tie up a further two deals, with Roque Santa Cruz and Scott Parker arriving at the club.

Sky Sports suggests Parker will arrive for a fee of £12 million:

Sky Sports has learnt that Parker has already engaged with City officials over personal terms and will substantially improve his current deal of £70,000 per week should the move be pushed through.

Whilst Roque Santa Cruz will arrive for £18 million plus the out of favour Tal Ben Haim, according to The Guardian, which also suggests rumoured interest in Kolo Toure, Craig Bellamy, Shay Given and Jermain Defoe - but we are unlikely to land all our reported targets:

City are also willing to swell the bank accounts of a number of other players, notably Craig Bellamy of West Ham, Jermain Defoe of Portsmouth, Arsenal's Kolo Touré and the Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given. There are, however, complications in each case. City are not entirely confident West Ham will agree to sell them two of their best players at once, so that might rule out Bellamy. If so, that would prompt City to accelerate their interest in Defoe even though it is known he would rather rejoin Tottenham Hotspur. Portsmouth want a fee of around £20m, which would be no problem to City but has created difficulties for Spurs.

After the debacle of Saturday's exit when Hughes was critical of elements of the squad, it was likely that interest in any targets would be swiftly followed up. It is interesting that Ben Haim's name was included in the report of the Santa Cruz signing - particularly as it stated that he was not brought to the club on the say so of Hughes.

Given the form of both Dunne and Richards this season, there has been a great opportunity for him to have won one of the positions at the back, yet when he has figured he has looked equally ill at ease.

One thing it does suggest though is that by sanctioning further deals it seems clear that Hughes is going nowhere and appears very much to have the support of those in charge for the long term.

Bridge fee agreed

Confirmation from Mark Hughes that an undisclosed fee has been agreed with Chelsea, with just personal terms to be agreed:

"My understanding is the clubs have agreed a fee. We need to speak to the boy and try to agree personal terms.

"If we can do that hopefully Wayne will be a Manchester City player, that's the aim.

"Wayne will probably travel to Manchester this evening and hopefully negotiations will go well and he can have a medical tomorrow."

Senna cool on move, Hughes targeting Parker?

"I don't know anything about a transfer to Manchester City," he told the Spanish sports paper Marca. "I have only read the same stories that you have and I have no idea where these stories have come from. Everyone in football knows how much money Manchester City have but all I can say is that I want to concentrate on Villarreal and do the best I can for the team. What I can tell you is that what I have read about me going to Manchester City has surprised me."

>>guardian.co.uk

Given Villareal are heavily involved both in La Liga and Champions League contention, Senna's reluctance to move at this stage is understandable, but by doing so could miss out on a move altogether if Hughes focuses on alternative targets.

This perhaps makes a move for Scott Parker more likely with The Times reporting news of an increased bid from ourselves. Given news this morning regarding West Ham's financial problems and announcement they would consider offers for players then it is not hard to deduce that if Hughes wants Parker, the chances are high that he will land him.

Would Parker be a good fit for what Hughes is looking to build though? He is a useful player, neat and tidy but for me, not physical or dynamic enough to fit into the midfield Hughes is looking to build behind the attacking threat we possess - although on the plus side, he is familiar with the Premier League which appears to be a point Hughes is placing a degree of emphasis on.

A big month ahead

Happy New Year everybody.

Well, January 1st has finally arrived and we can now see if the reports of numerous additions to the squad actually bears out.

Given the nature of the January window, I haven't changed my view that the galaxy of all-stars will not arrive quite yet, but rather expect 3 or 4 solid signings, the type of players Hughes wants and definitely players who can slot in and improve the side immediately.

It is a strange feature of the January window that most of the deals are concluded towards the end of the month but I imagine Hughes will be looking to strike quickly and have the players in place by January 10th (our first league game after the Forest FA Cup tie).

The Premier League has had a strange feel to it so far this season with so many teams bunched together and seperated by so few points. My own view is that it is not beyond the realms of possibility for us to aim for the top six or seven position by the end of the season to gain UEFA qualification given the lack of real stand out sides.

What is important in achieving this though is how we fare in January.

Following the Forest game, we have four league fixtures in the opening month of the year:

• Jan 10th Portsmouth (a)
• Jan 17th Wigan (h)
• Jan 28th Newcastle (h)
• Jan 31st Stoke (a)

A lot has of course been written about crucial sets of games already this season but with the undoubted boost that new arrivals will bring, coupled with the boost in confidence from the two games over the Christmas period I do feel we could we be well set to have a very good month.

The two home games are both winnable, whilst Portsmouth are out of sorts and Stoke slipping into the relegation zone. What will be as important though are the players who will be arriving. The signings that will be made in January are unlikely to sate the appetite of the press in search of big names but should be the very players that will enable us to kick on from where we are now, and it is important that they do come in and click right away.

A ten point return from January will be a welcome start.

Reality bites?

Sources close to the owners believe that talk of signing the likes of Kaka, Casillas, Messi and Torres is premature, with the management preferring to take a more patient approach to building the club into one of the biggest in the world.

However, it is believed that City will face little or no competition from Premier League rivals should they decide to pursue mid-price targets, including the Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz, as the majority of clubs face up to the realities of the difficult financial climate.

>>telegraph.co.uk

January has not historically been the time to snap up big name players, and I imagine given our current position in the league it is not likely to help in attracting any players who may be wavering.

Logically, summer would be the more likely period to bring in 'name' players, and hopefully we will be dealing from a greater strength than we currently are.

A surprising article nonetheless though given the way the media has been concerning our transfer speculation.

Transfer rumour round-up 12/09/2008

There's been a fair few rumours around the past day or so - inevitable I guess as our very own advent calendar counts it way down to the arrival of shiny new gifts in the form of new players come the opening of the January transfer window.

David Villa was the big rumour of course, with cash strapped Valencia reportedly looking to cash in on him either in January or the summer and Valencia know that any number of clubs are ready to beat a path to their door to secure his signature. What I'm sure Valencia do know of course is that any bid by ourselves is easily able to blow the competition out of the water. Clearly he is a player with undoubted pedigree and has all of the tools to be a fantastic success with us. Previously though, he has shown no sign of favouring a move to the Premier League (even when rumours of Arsenal and Chelsea's interest were high), instead preferring to orchestrate a move to either Barcelona or Real.

Both of those sides though do look well served in attack though, so it really could open up the door for ourselves if indeed he is available. He would unquestionably be a fantastic signing, and if we were to land just one player in January, for me, this would the one.

Antonio di Natale was linked yesterday, with reports that his agent was in London conducting talks with the City hierarchy. A bit out of the blue this one as nowhere has he been linked to us previously He is very much an underrated player, who has forced himself into the Italy side ahead of some more established and glamorous names with consistent performances both domestically and in Europe for Udinese over the past few seasons.

A surprise that he has been linked though given his profile at Udinese and earlier this season he was recognised by the region for his services to the community and does appear to be a long term fixture at the club.

My concern with him would be his size, and whether he could operate in the Premier League without a bigger, more established partner to take some of the load off him. Not forgetting also, is the worrying fact that the Premier League has overwhelmingly been a graveyard for Italian strikers and the ghosts of Corradi and Bianchi still loom large around Eastlands.

Meanwhile, in a Daily Mail article regarding the clubs 'concern' over the Michael Johnson's off-field lifestyle, it did also find time to state that it was certain that January would herald the arrival of both Roque Santa Cruz and Lassana Diarra, from Blackburn and Portsmouth respectively.

The interest around Diarra would have grown even moreso following the news that Portsmouth are officially up for sale and for me, would be a good addition alongside Kompany in midfield (or afford the possibility of moving Kompany back to defence). He is undoubtedly a good player, but given he has bolted on both Chelsea and Arsenal in his relatively short career, he wouldn't arrive without one or two warning signs.

Santa Cruz is a player that I initially thought would be a sound purchase, but in a struggling side this season has done little to prove the assertion he has been a one-season wonder, and that the player who struggled so at Bayern Munich is the real Santa Cruz as opposed to the player who lit up Ewood Park least season.

Santa Cruz linked once again

Roque Santa Cruz is keen to leave Blackburn Rovers and accept Manchester City's offer to sign for them in the January transfer window. Santa Cruz has become restless at Blackburn during a slump that has seen them drop into the relegation places, and the Paraguay international striker has told people involved in the deal that he wants to link up again with Mark Hughes, the man who brought him into English football.

>>guardian.co.uk

No direct quotes unlike the last time this story surfaced, but it does come from the usually reliable Daniel Taylor in The Guradian.

The report suggests that Santa Cruz, along with Wayne Bridge and Lassana Diara are top of Hughes' wanted list and all three would be good signings looking at the current make up of the squad.

Despite Blackburn's reluctance, I don't doubt that if Hughes does indeed want to sign him (and Santa Cruz is interested) then we will ultimately get him as Blackburn will receive an offer they will not be able to turn down.

Equally interesting in the article is the list of players believed to be heading out of the club:

Nery Castillo and Felipe Caicedo will quickly be ushered out of the door but the exodus could also involve Dietmar Hamann, Michael Ball, Javier Garrido, Darius Vassell, Nedem Onuoha and even the Brazil international Elano Blumer.

With the transfer window in January signalling six months into Hughes's reign, is he now beginning to get to grips with the squad and identify those he wants, and those he doesn't?

A reason behind the transfer rumours

These individuals have in their possession a document bearing an official Manchester City football club letterhead and they are insisting that they have the authority to act on behalf of the club. However, as David Villa's agent, Jose Luis Tamargo, discovered when he met with these individuals, this document is dated the 4th September 2008 - and therefore predates the exchange of ownership at the club that took place in mid-September.

Consequently, Tamargo has been in contact with Manchester City and been informed that these people have absolutely no legal authority to act on behalf of the premiership club or the new owners at Eastlands.

In fact, many of the transfer rumours that have emerged in recent days are a direct consequence of these individuals attempting to broker deals - without actually representing the club, or its owners, in any capacity.

Over the last couple of weeks, individuals bearing this document, have approached the family of Kaka as well as Lionel Messi's father. However, on both occasions, contact with Manchester City football club has revealed that the club itself has sanctioned no such approaches.

>>Guillem Balague.

Balague has reported a fair amount on his website since the takeover, predominantly in response to the reports linking us to Spanish or La Liga players and of course comes on the back of yesterday's comments from Roque Santa Cruz.

In today's climate within football, there are no doubt a plethora of agents, player representatives and so forth hawking players and clubs about - in most cases working solely in their own interests, but this story is specifically stating they purpoting to representative the club. Not the first time of course that a story of this nature has surfaced and Rafael Honigstein reported that a list was being circulated around Europe's top agents in the wake of the takeover and January window.

What makes me uncomfortable here though is the presence of Thaksin, with the story stating it is his cronies who are clearly acting without the authority of the current ownership/board, and you do wonder exactly what their motives are.

How this leaves us when it comes to 'above board' negotiations come January is unknown, but I can't imagine it creates a favourable impression on the key players and agents which could cost us further down the line.

Since initial comments in the wake of the takeover, the tone from all concerned at the club has been far more conservative, almost to the point of being underwhelming, yet incidents like this will simply fuel the wilder rumours that are being bandied around - something that I imagine will hardly recede as there is now one eye on the January window.

Deadline day - done deals

Well what a day it has been eh?

I think we hoped that deadline day might see the arrival of one or two players to supplement the squad but who would have predicted what has occurred today - even in the crazy world of Manchester City?

It would have been a great day to be able to cover it all live but I'm now set for a frantic evening as I try and catch up on everything that has happened today, and with all the news that may yet to come in.

A couple of deals were done over the weekend, with Argentinian Pablo Zabaleta finally sealing his move and then a surprise move for Brazilian left back Glauber - who is believed to have joined on an (initial) short term one year deal from relegated Bundesliga side FC Nurnberg.

Early this morning then saw confirmation that Vedran Corluka had signed for Tottenham - putting an end to the one-off saga from the past week or so.

A disappointment in some respects to lose Corluka who is clearly a good player, but rather than for financial reasons it is clear the decision has been made on a footballing basis with Mark Hughes believing Zabaleta to be an improvement.

Hughes was believed to be tracking him from when he was in charge at Blackburn so he is obviously sold on his talents so it is a decision we need to back and there is no reason to suggest it is a bad one at this stage.

Another move out of the blue was then the signing of Felipe Caicedo by Hertha Berlin on a season long loan deal, which to me indicates that he does not have a future at the club given Hughes's reluctance to allow Ched Evans or Daniel Sturridge to follow a similar path.

Caicedo was always more of a long term 'project' but hadn't displayed the potential of either Evans or Sturridge in his brief outings and it would be a surprise if he made another appearance at the club.