Bianchi joins Torino

The Club has tonight confirmed that Rolando Bianchi has left Manchester City to join Torino on a five-year deal.

The Italian striker was Sven-Goran Eriksson's first signing last summer and despite scoring the Blues' first goal of the season at Upton Park last August, by January he had fallen out of favour and went back to Serie A to join Lazio on loan until the end of the season.

The official Torino website this evening reported: "Torino are pleased to announce they have permanently signed the footballer Rolando Bianchi from Manchester City.

"The striker has signed a five-year contract.

"Tonight, a few minutes before the start of Torino versus Brescia, Rolando will greet the Granata fans together with president Urbano Cairo.

"The official presentation to the press will happen during next week."

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And so officially ends a City career that started off with so much promise.

Bianchi arrived much-hyped as Sven's first signing on the back of a succesful Serie A season for Reggina and enjoyed a goal scoring debut at West Ham, but appeared to fall foul of Sven early in the season and was jettisoned for the most part with Mpenza often trusted as the lone man in the 4-5-1 formation.

A loan spell at Lazio was set to result in a permanent move during the summer but his option was not picked up and he returned to the club after a far more stellar six months at The Stadio Olimpico.

Although he featured in a couple of pre-season games, he departs a well trodden path of players who have arrived in the Premier League from Serie A with much fanfare, only to exit without success - with strikers in particular prone to struggles.

Perhaps Bianchi was too young when he arrived at the club, or perhaps the strong season he had prior to joining us was not an indication of his true talent but I'm sure most fans will feel a degree of frustration that his City career panned out in such a manner, and he now has plenty to prove as he tries to pick up his career at the Granata.

The bonus with the deal of course is that it is a permanent move, and the fee (unconfirmed, but believed to be around £5 million) and saving on wages can no doubt be put to good use over the next week as Mark Hughes seeks to make further additions to the squad ahead of the transfer deadline - with the reports linking Thiago Neves growing ever stronger.

Transfer rumours gather pace

After it seemed that the Corluka stories had died down and he would perhaps remain a City player, rumours gathered apace yesterday (Saturday) morning as some newspaper reports suggested that the move to Tottenham would be completed prior to the season starting, and more fuel was added to the fire when it was reported that he did not feature in the team photograph, and was then left out the side for the final pre-season game against Milan.

It does seem inevitable that Corluka is on his way, and it is disappointing news given the impressive season he had last campaign and at 22 years of age, has plenty of upside ahead of him. However, the current financial situation at the club does appear such that at the very least we need to trim the wage bill and by a strange quirk, we have to sell Corluka in order to actually finish paying for him.

Given the quality we have in defence - and this season it appears that Ben Haim is set to partner Dunne in the centre with Richards at right back, Corluka to a degree does become expendable and if we have to sell then better it be a player such as that than an enforced sale such as Richards, Petrov or Elano which would the side far more.

Having said that, it is a sad state that we find ourself in if finances are such that we are being forced into sanctioning a couple of sales to balance the books, and is something that the press are beginning to prick their ears up about as they sniff around for a headline or two.

Another player who could be on his way is Stephen Ireland. Rumours linking him to Sunderland again surfaced this weekend - partly like the Corluka scenario where it is a player who could be expendable but perhaps also because Mark Hughes does not see him fitting into the side, and he was again left out of the side yesterday (with TV later indicating he was initially told to stay away from the game).

Ireland for me is an undoubted talent - despite all his quirks and slightly odd behaviour, and whilst his progress has been somewhat steady, I do believe that given his still young age he has plenty ahead of him and whilst £5 million may well be a decent return, further ahead we could look back on a sale with a great deal of regret.

One player who appears to be staying though (for now at least) is Rolando Bianchi. The club turned down a bid from Torino which would see him move to Turin on loan with a £2 million option at the end of the season. Rumours now link him with a potential move to Genoa as it seems inevitable that he will not be with his this season and I think the only reason a move has not gone through so far is that we are trying to recoup as much of our initial outlay back for him.

An interesting week all in all then as instead of new arrivals coming into the club with season just around the corner, we are having to face the prospect of players heading out of the exit door. Not an ideal start, and with the political and financial problems for our owner ever increasing, it is with a sense of aprehension that we head towards the season with.