Mariga deal reported

Not one that has garned much attention amongst the bigger players in the media, but hat tip to Blue Days for bringing this one to attention.

It is being reported both on calcionews24.com and allafrica.com that we have agreed to a 10 million Euro deal to sign Parma's Kenyan international midfielder McDonald Mariga:

Parma have accepted a E10 million offer (about Sh722 million) from Manchester City for Kenyan international McDonald Mariga, according to reports from Italy and England.

Mariga had been linked with Italian champions Inter but Parma sporting director, Pietro Leonardi, apparently met with City on Thursday.

He was able to convince the English club over 22-year-old Mariga's E10m fee during a series of talks which untangled the move.

"Once the transfer is compelete, Mariga will become Kenya's richest sportsman and the first ever to play in the English Premier League.

City turned to Mariga after seeing negotiations stall with Real Madrid in their attempts to sign Fernando Gago. City were ready to bid £6million for Mariga, according to reports in Italy, and could offer Valeri Bojinov as part of the deal.

Interesting stuff and a move (if true) that has flown completely under the radar. From his bio on wikipedia it seems he is a tall, rangy midfielder who spent time in Sweden before his move to Parma.

One potential hitch with a deal could be his Kenyan nationality, which given their lowly standing in the world game may impact on the possibility of a work permit being granted.

If anyone knows anything further about him though please leave a comment below.

UPDATE: The Bluemoon twitter feed is also suggesting that the deal will go through.

Bruce confirms Benjani talks

"We have entered into discussions with his representatives about the player.

We have just looked at the situation and we feel we are juggling the balls in the air a little bit and you are just hoping the squad is big enough and strong enough. With the injuries we have, we are worried we are a little bit light in that area, and we have decided that we will try to make a move."

>>Steve Bruce.

Sunderland move for Benjani

Sky Sports News understands Sunderland are in talks to sign Manchester City striker Benjani.

Benjani's future at City has been the subject of speculation for the last few weeks with a number of clubs credited with an interest in the Zimbabwe international.

West Ham were believed to be close to signing the former Portsmouth man, but they have ended their interest in Benjani.

Sunderland have now jumped to the head of the queue for Benjani with the player understood to be on Wearside for talks.

>>skysports.com

It appears that Roberto Mancini would not stand in the way should Benjani wish to leave:

“I spoke with him two days ago and he told me he had a possibility to go and play.

We have a lot of strikers but he it is up to him to decide. “If he wants to stay here I will be happy. He is a good player and a good man.”

Mixed reports over Cook future

Seemingly not one to be out of the headlines for long, Garry Cook finds himself centre stage once again today with the suggestion in The Guardian that ADUG are giving 'serious consideration' to the possibility of replacing him in the summer:

Manchester City's owners in Abu Dhabi are starting to give serious consideration to the position of the chief executive, Garry Cook, at the end of the season after becoming increasingly perturbed about his leadership style and the frequency with which he has attracted bad publicity.

Contrasting this though is a piece in The Independent, and somewhat a surprise given - as JPB also notes - that both are usually on the same page is the suggestion that Cook has the backing of the owners:

The Arabs have been astonished by the blizzard of publicity which City attract and they view Cook as an individual who has taken the hit for them after Hughes' departure last month. They also consider him pivotal to aspects of the club's corporate transformation which are alien to many traditionalists, and recognise the substantial role he had in player recruitment before Brian Marwood's arrival as football administrator. Cook, who remains generally popular with City fans, was heavily involved in the signing of Shay Given.

It should be noted that the club, via The MEN have dismissed the suggestion that Cook is on his way and I have to say I would be more inclinced to believe he will remain at the helm.

Cook is clearly a figure who divides opinion amongst fans, but it is clear that although his gaffes have been unwelcome and not endeared him too many, he has helped drive the club forward over the past 18 months - something surely not lost on those who employ him.

Johnson deal moving closer?

It appears as though progress is being made over the potential signing of Middlesbrough's Adam Johnson.

After Gordon Strachan poured water on a possible move yesterday, Sky Sports reported that Johnson himself was keen to speak to us over a move and today's MEN states a deal is 'edging' closer:

Manchester City are closing in on Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson to replace the departing Robinho.

MEN Sport understands the Blues have tabled a £5m bid for the 22-year-old, whose contract at the Riverside expires in the summer.

The departure of Robinho on Thursday on six months' loan to Santos has freed up a place in the City squad, and Johnson has asked Boro for permission to talk to City.

I do like Johnson as a player from what I have seen, and if he is interested in a move, given his contract expires in the summer I'd imagine Middlesbrough would take a fee in the region of £5 million or so.

UPDATE: Sky Sports are reporting Roberto Mancini as 'confirming' his interest in Johnson.

The end for Robinho?

Official confirmation of the move:

The Club can confirm that it has reached agreement with Santos for Robinho to join them on a six-month loan. The agreement takes immediate effect and ends on August 4.

Santos will assume all of the player's contract terms, including wages and bonuses. Robinho will travel to Brazil on Sunday to begin his loan period.

Manager Roberto Mancini said: "Robinho is someone who needs to be playing regularly and we wish him well for the period of his loan."

Perhaps the only surprise coming out of this is the sentance; "Santos will assume all of the player's contract terms, including wages and bonuses" as it initially appeared that we would still be on the hook for the majority of Robinho's wages. Reports of having first option on promising youngsters has been suggested and it would be interesting to look at exactly how Santos are funding his contract given the fact Brazilian clubs - despite the presence of Ronaldo, Adriano and Roberto Carlos - have nowhere the resources to match their European counterparts.

Judging by the thread on the MEN story of the move it has really polarised fans and likewise with the poll here on Bitter and Blue. The most talented since Kinkladze or a complete dud?

His early days at the club were headline-grabbing from the moment he arrived on deadline day in August 2008. A goal on debut against Chelsea and individual moments of quality were the theme and a hero was born. As the winter closed in though, so did his early form. A loss of form coincided with poor results and the pressure grew on Mark Hughes. Away games brought new lows and the criticism grew as his effectiveness dwindled and reports of a rift between him and Hughes surfaced.

The 2009/10 season began and it was clear that Robinho was no longer first choice for Hughes. Struggling to regain the highs of the previous year, he spent time on the bench and on the rare opportunities he had was ineffective and perhaps most criminal for City fans, appeared not to have the required desire. After coming back from injury, he had a couple of opportunities under Roberto Mancini, who talked of him being an important player.

The nadir was perhaps reached though during the 2-0 defeat at Everton, when having been introduced as an early substitute for the injured Roque Santa Cruz, he suffered the indignity of being himself substituted later in the game. How the media pounced. With rumours of a move to Brazil surfacing, he was left out of the squad for the trip to United this week before the loan deal was announced this afternoon.

World Cup year or not, what Robinho needs is a consistent run of games to get himself back in the shape and form that he was in over the first half of last season, when he was a genuine game changing player and proved the undoubted quality that he has. The difficulty this season as opposed to last is given the strengthening of the squad in the attacking positions there is very little scope for him to get the opportunity for a consistent run. Last season of course, there was no Martin Petrov to challenge on the left and Craig Bellamy only arrived at the end of January. Realistically, there is no way he beats either player out on current form, and it is inconceivable that would change between now and the end of the season.

I do view the situation as somewhat of a romantic in that to all but throw in the towel on a player who is a real game changer and as captivating to watch as Robinho is a real shame and cling to the hope that he can become an integral part of our push for success both over the remainder of 2009/10 and beyond.

Although it is a loan deal that has been agreed, it is difficult to see a future for him at the club. Had a side been willing to pay a suitable fee to facilitate a permanent move, it is certain that a transfer would have been agreed. As it stands, on August 4th he is slated to return to Manchester yet will surely never pull on the blue shirt again.

As much as the hope is he could somehow come back revitalised and ready for 2010/11, unfortunately the history of football is littered with big name high profile examples of players at clubs who, for one reason or another, just failed to make it work.

It now appears that the name of Robinho will be the next to join that list.

Gago signing 'unlikely'

Sky Sports are having a busy old day, and there is yet another transfer story involving ourselves, and like the Adam Johnson one, it is not necessarily positive news:

And with Real having failed to secure cover in midfield, one of the player's two agents, Marcelo Lombilla, is meeting with Real director general Jorge Valdano to try and resolve the situation.

"Lombilla is in Madrid and has met twice with Valdano but I do not believe that he will leave," Gago's other agent, Zoran Vekic, said.

"There is still a meeting pending, but I doubt that Madrid will let him join Manchester City because it is not a question of money."

Johnson bids rejected

Although reports last night appeared to be confident in seeing us land Adam Johnson, the suggestion today is that it may not be so cut and dried.

Sky Sports are quoting Middlesbrough boss Gordon Strachan as having dismissed all bids outright for him:

"We have had verbal offers in the last week for Adam, but nothing has changed," said Strachan. Adam is still here and I would expect him still to be here for the last 19 games of the season."

I believe that despite Middlesbrough being relegated from the Premier League last season, they are on a relatively sound footing financially so a requirement to sell may not be as pressing as it is with Crystal Palace and Victor Moses.

Alternatively, it could merely be an attempt to see interested parties up their bid with the closing of the transfer window ever nearer.

Garrido's rallying call

No surprise that the first rallying call has been sounded in the wake of last night's exit, from full-back Javier Garrido:

"It is not easy to take because we were nearly in the final. We showed we are a quality team and we deserved extra time.

But you must concentrate, especially against a team like Manchester United who can score at any time."What happened is sad but we must lift ourselves," he said.

The Portsmouth game is very important because we must keep working to finish in the top four. Also, we are still in the FA Cup, so we must do our best to get to the final of that."

It is easy to say of course, but I'm anticipating a dominating performance on Sunday at home to Portsmouth.

Motta deal 'close'

Further to the reported bid for Adam Johnson, it has also been suggested that a deal for rumoured target Marcelo Motta could be imminent according to Sky Sports:

Roma and Udinese co-own Motta, but the Italian duo are willing to send him to England on loan as he does not figure in their plans this season.

Motta's representatives are believed to have held talks with City earlier this week and the former Italy Under 21 international is due to fly into England in the next few days to tie up the move.

The question with Motta is how much of an upgrade of the current players in the position will he be as we hardly short of quality in that area.

nother interesting point in the transfers and rumours we are involved in is that in general they have been for short term loans (until the end of the season). Does this suggest it is by no means guaranteed that Roberto Mancini will be with us beyond the end of 2009/10?

Johnson bid reported

Manchester City will attempt to get over their Carling Cup disappointment by signing England Under-21 star Adam Johnson from Middlesbrough.

It is understood the Blues have lodged a bid for Johnson and they hope to conclude a deal before the end of the transfer window.

Johnson scored twice for Boro in their victory over Doncaster on Tuesday night but has been touted for a move away from the Riverside since the Teessiders were relegated last season.

>>MEN.

With the focus soon to shift away from the Carling Cup and derby games, potential transfers and likely targets will fall back under the spotlight and this is one that has been reported almost immediately following tonight's game.

Johnson was an impressive figure during the early stages of the recent FA Cup tie and comes with a big reputation. No doubt he would be an option on the left hand side to fill the gap in the squad created by Robinho's imminent departure.

Would this mean a possible move for Crystal Palace's Victor Moses may no longer be forthcoming though?

United ratings

Given - A couple of excellent saves and calm throughout. 7.5

Richards - Strong defensively and really contributed to the attack. Finding some real form. 7.5

Boyata - Hugely impressive for the most part. Calm, confident and composed. 7.5

Kompany - Solid, dependable and developing a nice partnership with his compatriot. 7

Garrido - Very one dimensional and lack of pace exposed against the lively Nani. 6

Wright-Phillips - Threatened on occasion but a lack of real end product. 6.5

de Jong - Did well in the main but a little overrun in the second half. 7

Barry - Solid but not quite enough offensively. 6.5

Zabaleta - A key extra man in the first half and replaced Garrido well at left back. 7

Bellamy - Threatening and had the better of Fabio. Could have done better with the shots he had. 7

Tevez - A largely quiet game as the lone striker, but conjoured up a superb finish. 7.5

Subs:

Ireland - Added creativity over the last half an hour. 6.5

Adebayor - Gave us a better shape late in the game but looked rusty. 6

Mancini on the United defeat

"I feel so sorry for the players, because they could not work any harder, but most of all I feel sorry for our fans. I wanted us to get to the final for them, and unfortunately that won't happen now."

"We have to learn from this defeat and improve. It's easy to improve when you win, but losing like this can teach a team things, so we must pick ourselves up. We have to work hard over the next few months, try to improve and get into the top four by the end of the season. That's possible with these players, and we still have players to come back from injury, or Kolo to come back from Africa. I'm pleased with what the players I could choose from gave me in these two games.

"We're still in the FA Cup and we have a chance to go to Wembley in that competition, which I would love to do for the fans."

>>Roberto Mancini.

United 3 - 1 City (United win 4-3 on aggregate)

The question of whether a one goal lead from the first leg was enough was one talked about in the lead up to the return leg at Old Trafford. Whilst many thought it would be, in the end - like our performance this evening - it proved not to be as we ultimately fell short.

Inevitably, if we were going to exit the competition tonight it would be in heartbreaking fashion, and with time ticking down towards an added thirty minutes we conceded a soft goal that sent us crashing out.

The first half had gone as well as Mancini could have hoped, almost perfectly in fact. Setting up similarly to the first leg, United were restricted and with both sides playing a little cagily it was no surprise the half ended scoreless. Playing on the counter, we had carved a couple of opportunities through the attacking trio of Bellamy, Tevez and Wright-Phillips and suggested we had enough to stretch United in the second half as the game went on.

It was not to be though as we conceded early into the second half which sparked the game into life and make it a compelling affair. Not only did it put the tie back on level terms, but it really handed the initiative and ascendency to United, who looked the more likely to to score again as they forced us on the back foot.

Perhaps just when the tie was looking beyond us though, Carlos Tevez conjoured up a goal out of nothing with an instinctive finish to seemingly send the game into the extra time.

It was not to be though, and after missing a golden opportunity earlier on, Rooney headed home unmarked from a Giggs cross to send United through and kill hopes of a Wembley visit. Mancini talked beforehand about concentration, and for each of the goals as a defence we perhaps guilty of not adhering to this as on reflection they were all preventable.

No doubt there will be plenty of plaudits coming our way, and that we are on the cusp of achieving big things, but that is no consolation at the moment.

We are still to take that next step. So near, yet so far.

Mancini - 'We must stay calm'

"We must stay calm," he asserted. "It's vital that we only think about the game. We have to think about our tactics, know what we are doing at corners and keep our concentration. You play better when you are calm.

I want us to start the game by playing high up the pitch and don't hold back like we did at home. We have to play to win from the first minute."

>>Roberto Mancini.

Interestingly, Mancini has gone with the same side as he did for the first leg.

United match thread

Time is a little short today so rather than a full preview I'll point you in the direction of the latest Vox Pops over at Norfstander that myself and some of the other City bloggers contributed to.

Also feel free to use the comments as a thread for tonights game.

Robinho transfer twist

Sky Sports are reporting that we have confirmed that Robinho is set to leave the club on a short term basis, but perhaps not to Santos as has been widely reported:

Santos had also stated they were confident of tying up a loan deal for the unsettled forward to return to his homeland.

However, Sao Paolo have now joined the chase for the Brazilian and the two clubs will battle it out to sign the former Real Madrid man on loan.

If, as it now appears inevitable, we do allow him to leave it looks as though we will still be on the hook for virtually half of Robinho's current salary according to this report in this mornings Times:

The forward is ready to take a pay cut of about £45,000 a week from the £150,000 that he secured when he became the most expensive player in this country after moving from Real Madrid 18 months ago. Santos are in talks with sponsors to help to fund about £35,000 of the remaining wage — three times more than their present top earner — with City expected to pick up the balance, about £70,000.

A big price to pay to rid ourselves of a player who could make an impact for us between now and the end of the season.

Robinho move edging closer?

Things appear to gathering pace with some subtance to the story other than comments attributed to Robinho, with ESPN quoting Santos press Arnaldo Hase:

"Tomorrow there will be a meeting that may be decisive for good or for bad," Hase told Reuters. "City would accept a six-month loan, Santos want to negotiate for six months or longer, but we will be happy if the deal is closed for six months.

"Under our proposal, Santos would pay Robinho's wages. The player already said to us he is open to earn less here than in Manchester. If everything works out well, Robinho could be a really cheap signing for Santos because we have a lot of partners interested in financially supporting Robinho's return to Santos."

Interestingly, Sky Sports are reporting that Santos are keener on an eighteen month loan as opposed to a six month loan which we are believed to be in favour of.

Additionally, the BBC carried a story this afternoon that also suggested we were in agreement of a move (although it didn't state a permanent or loan move) on the condition that we have first option on youngsters Paulo Henrique Ganso and Neymar.

We've yet to hear anything solid from the club (Mancini's evasive Scunthorpe post-match interview aside), but it seems a move is appearing increasingly likely.

Toure returns

Our captain is back following his exit in the African Cup of Nations, and there is the possibility that he could go straight into the side on Wednesday evening:

KOLO Toure will come back into contention for Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final second leg against United at Old Trafford after Ivory Coast were knocked out of the African Nations Cup.

Blackpool striker Hameur Bouazza scored in injury time as Algeria went into the semi-finals with a 3-2 win in Cabinda.

Toure, who had a late goal ruled out for offside, may now come straight back into the Blues side with his experience bound to come into boss Roberto Mancini's thinking.

It is perhaps a measure of the impact that Dedryck Boyata has made in the main alongside Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards since coming into the side during Toure's absence that it is generated a real talking point as to whether he should retain his place even with the possible availability of Toure.

There is also of course the possibility of Micah Richards lining up centrally given the option of a fit again Nedum Onouha at right back (as we saw on Sunday).

My hunch though is that if Toure is ready to go fitness wise that Mancini opts to play him alongside Vincent Kompany as the central pairing.

Mancini on FA Cup victory

“We played well, especially at times in the second half, but it was a difficult afternoon for us. Scunthorpe made it hard and deserve some congratulations. We had expected a typical FA Cup tie, which is what we got. I told the player they would need to concentrate for the full game, they did and we got the result but it was not easy.

“Our young players did very well, they have shown me what they can do in training and I had no problem in picking them today. They have the right mentality and this was a big test for them. I’m pleased with them and pleased for them.”

>>Roberto Mancini.