Manchester City playing the numbers game after loan exits
Emmanuel Adebayor has gone, Shaun Wright-Phillips is set to follow – and Roberto Mancini is now playing a numbers game.
Adebayor’s exit to Real Madrid, initially on loan until the end of the season, makes him the third senior departure from Mancini’s squad during this month’s transfer window.
City’s boss has already allowed Roque Santa Cruz to go to Blackburn and Wayne Bridge to join West Ham, both on loan for the rest of the season.
And Wright-Phillips may yet join them in making a temporary move elsewhere before the transfer window shuts on Monday, with Bolton and Fulham among the clubs who have been looking to do a deal.
Mancini’s mid-season re-shuffle has been designed to ensure his squad is in the best possible shape to tackle the demands of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Europa League.
And it has created the possibility of City going into February without a full 25-man party in their squads for domestic and European football.
That in itself would not be remarkable in the top flight, as 12 out of the 20 Premier League clubs named fewer than 25 senior players in their squad at the beginning of September.
But it would be quite a turnaround for City’s manager who, at one stage last summer, had 32 senior players on his books – sparking speculation that some high-profile names would end up unable to play for a season.
Mancini is keen to keep his domestic and European parties as consistent with each other as possible.
But it may be tricky to avoid altogether a repeat of the scenario which saw Santa Cruz included in the Premier squad but left out of the Europa League 25.
The City boss was forced to make that decision because the arrival of Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan last summer effectively left him with one fewer squad place for European competition than for the Premier League.
Balotelli qualified as one of the unlimited number of Under-21 players allowed under Premier League rules, and so did not need to be included in the 25-man domestic senior squad.
That was not the case in the Europa League, which allows an unlimited number of List B players, who have to be not only under-21 but also to have been registered with the club for at least two years uninterrupted since they were 15.
As a result, Mancini had to name Balotelli in his 25-man senior party for Europe, meaning that someone else had to drop out, and that man was Santa Cruz, pictured. Even though the Paraguayan has moved out on loan, that conundrum remains for Mancini, who can make a maximum of three changes to his Europa League squad before submitting it to UEFA by 11pm on Tuesday.
And the City boss may name a European squad with fewer than 25 senior players in it, particularly if Wright-Phillips moves on because the domestic and European football bodies also differ in their classification of home-grown players.
Under UEFA rules, eight of City’s 25 squad places must be reserved for players who spent three years with English clubs before the age of 21 – just as with the Premier League.
But European rules also state that four of those eight places must be reserved for over-21 players who have come through the club’s own youth system.
In City’s squad, those four players are Wright-Phillips, Michael Johnson, Shaleum Logan and Micah Richards.
The Blues would be perfectly within their rights to go into the Europa League knockout stages with just three club-trained players – but it would mean they could only name 24 senior men in their squad.
As that 24 would include Balotelli, Mancini would effectively have two fewer places to play with in his European squad than in his domestic one.
Thankfully for the Italian, his Premier League squad reshuffle is more straightforward, although he could still go into February with fewer than 25 senior players if Wright-Phillips and a couple of other fringe men depart.
Domestically, Mancini can make as many changes to his squad as he likes during the transfer window, so the only issue is numbers.
The City boss had 27 senior players at the club when he named his Premier League squad list on September 1, leaving out back-up goalkeeper David Gonzalez and striker Kelvin Etuhu to make the 25-man limit.
Since then, Mancini has brought in Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg and welcomed back keeper Gunnar Nielsen from an injury-hit six-month stint at Tranmere, while allowing Santa Cruz, Bridge and Adebayor to go out on loan – reducing the tally to 26.
The departure of Wright-Phillips, plus the likely exit of Etuhu, who can go on a free transfer, would bring that number down to 24.
That tally would include Gonzalez and the returning Neilsen, with Premier League rules stating a player cannot be left out of the squad if they are under contract and there is space for them.
Gonzalez and Nielsen would be the likeliest candidates to miss the Europa League cut due to lack of space – although one of them would step up if Shay Given were to go out on loan.
Mancini has cited a Given loan exit as a possibility, with the keeper keen to get some regular domestic football under his belt.
But he has made it clear that the 34-year-old would only be allowed to go out under the manager’s terms.
It’s a philosophy Mancini has applied to all of his transfer dealings at Eastlands. He is prepared to let players move on and, it seems, is even prepared for the possibility of going into the second half of the campaign with fewer than 25 senior players.
Mourinho: I have no preferences about United, City or Chelsea
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have been put on red-alert after Jose Mourinho allegedly issued a come and get me plea to his reputed Premier League admirers by suggesting he has decided to return to England.
The Real Madrid coach has been embroiled in a bitter war of words with Jorge Valadano and is believed to be seriously considering resigning at the end of the season according to The Sun.
The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ paid lip-service to his potential suitors by intimating he didn’t have a preference about Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea should he successfully engineer his return to the Premier League.
Mourinho is quoted by the Sun, saying: "I've decided to return to England. I have nothing prepared about my future - I just want to be happy in my work.
"I have no preferences about Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea. I just want to rediscover the joy.
"I'm not saying the Premier League is the most spectacular in the world but it is the best organised, the fair play and the enormous respect for your opponent."
Manchester City's bang for their buck: how much Emmanuel Adebayor and others cost per goal
Manchester City may have deep pockets since the arrival of Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan but they still want to see a return on their investment. In the case of strikers, that means goals. And Emmanuel Adebayor isn't alone in proving expensive.
Jo – Signed from CSKA Moscow. (2008 – Present)
Where are they now: Bench with most recent start v Arsenal on the Jan 5 2011.
Cost: £18m
League games played: 9
League goals scored: 1
Cost per goal: £18m
Valeri Bojinov – Signed from Fiorentina. (2007-2010)
Where are they now: Parma.
Cost: £5.75m
League games played: 3
League goals scored: 1
Cost per goal: £5.75m
Roque Santa Cruz – Signed from Blackburn Rovers. (2009-2011)
Where are they now: Blackburn.
Cost: £17m
League games played: 6
League goals scored: 3
Cost per goal: £5.66m
Robinho – Signed from Real Madrid. (2008-2010)
Where are they now: AC Milan.
Cost: £32.5m
League games played: 36
League goals scored: 14
Cost per goal: £2.32m
Rolando Bianchi – Signed from Reggina. (2007-2008)
Where are they now: Torino.
Cost: £8.8m
League games played: 7
League goals scored: 4
Cost per goal: £2.2m
Emmanuel Adebayor – Signed from Arsenal. (2009 – Present)
Where they are now: On loan at Real Madrid
Cost: £25m
League games played: 27
League goals scored: 15
Cost per goal: £1.66m
Felipe Caicedo – Signed from Basle. (2008 – Present)
Where are they now: On loan at Levante.
Cost: £5.2m
League games played: 10
League goals scored: 4
Cost per goal: £1.3m
Craig Bellamy – Signed from West Ham United. (2009 – Present)
Where are they now: On loan at Cardiff City.
Cost: £14m
League games played: 33
League goals scored: 12
Cost per goal: £1.16m
OTHER BOLLOX
Chelsea's move for Benfica defender David Luiz is on the verge of collapse. The Blues are refusing to meet the Portuguese club's asking price of £30m. the Sun
Liverpool have been given until Saturday to come up with the cash to buy Luis Suarez from Ajax. The Dutch club are holding out for £25m for their 24-year-old striker, but the Reds are hoping to pay about half that figure. the Sun
Uruguayan Suarez, who impressed at last year's World Cup, is known to be keen to complete the move to Anfield, although the transfer may not go through now until summer at the earliest as Liverpool's owners are refusing to pay inflated prices in January. Goal.com
Barcelona and Manchester United are vying for the signature of Ajax defender Gregor van der Wiel. The 22-year-old full-back won the Johan Cruyff award in 2010, a yearly accolade handed out to the best player in Dutch football. Insidefutbol.com
Turkish side Konyaspor have made an offer for Blackburn forward El-Hadji Diouf, although his agent says his first preference is to remain in England. Daily Mail
Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu could make a shock return to the Premier League, with Newcastle keen on signing the 32-year-old, who was sacked by Chelsea in 2004 after testing positive for cocaine. Metro
Blackpool are eyeing up a move for Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera as they prepare for Charlie Adam to leave Bloomfield Road. Metro
The Tangerines chairman, Karl Oyston, has told Adam to withdraw his transfer request and help the club stay in the Premier League. the Sun
But Blackpool's move for striker Jeremie Aliadiere, who is a free agent, has hit a snag and may be called off. talkSPORT
Bolton are poised to sign 21-year-old Arsenal striker Carlos Vela on loan.Daily Mirror
German side Werder Bremen want to sign Tottenham midfielder Nico Kranjcar, who is free to leave White Hart Lane, but he is thought to want to stay in England.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Spurs striker Robbie Keane could be leaving White Hart Lane to join West Ham on loan, with a possible permanent move to follow in the summer. Daily Mirror
Spurs have already agreed a deal with the Hammers for Keane to move to east London and they have approached Atletico Madrid over a £9m move for 31-year-old Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan. Goal.com
Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies could be on his way across town to bitter rivals Birmingham, with midfielder Sebastian Larsson going in the opposite direction. Daily Mirror
Liverpool defender Paul Konchesky could be offered a way out of his nightmare time at Anfield with a return to Fulham on loan. Daily Mirror
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has revealed he will get a share of any profit made on the sale of Charlie Adam if the midfielder leaves the club.the Sun
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists he is heading back to the Premier League. The Real Madrid boss reportedly said: "I've decided to return to England." the Sun
Manchester United's 36-year-old midfielder Paul Scholes says he does not know if he will be playing football next season. the Sun
Sheffield Wednesday are lining up Notts County's Paul Ince as a possible successor to under-pressure manager Alan Irvine. Daily Mirror
Blackburn's on loan striker Roque Santa Cruz has released a charity single to help underprivileged children in his home country Paraguay. The 29-year-old recorded the song Let Your Love Shine with Dutch singer Beate Alexandra. Roque Santa Cruz foundation
more bollox later ....
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