Sunday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Manchester City will be forced to cull bulging squad in January transfer window to meet FFP regulations
Manchester City are seeking to sell as many as 20 players in the next two transfer windows as they seek to dramatically reduce their wage bill to try and meet Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
The club employs 63 professionals and are looking to get that down to the low 40s by next summer.
In the recently published financial results for the 2010-11 financial year, City’s wage bill was £174 million which was £21 million higher than turnover.
While City will be able to add Champions League revenues to their results next year and are working hard on commercial deals to supplement their Etihad stadium and shirt sponsorship deal, the wage bill needs to come down if they are to show Uefa they are committed to meeting their regulations.
City made a loss of £195 million in the last financial year and are hopeful of getting that below the £100 million mark by the next time financial results are examined.
Under FFP, clubs are not supposed to post losses more than £39.5 million over the three years in which it is assessed.
Teams which fail to meet Uefa’s rules could be banned from European competition from the 2013-14 season, although there is scope for flexibility if a club can show it is making progress towards breaking even.
The priority is getting high earners off the payroll who no longer make a contribution to the first team but there will also be a need to sell younger players who are not quite good enough to make the grade with Roberto Mancini’s first team.
City are seeking a deal to sell Carlos Tévez and the player’s adviser has been in Italy negotiating with AC Milan.
There are only a limited number of buyers able to afford him but with City reluctantly prepared to take a lower transfer fee than they were in the summer, a move is certainly possible.
The club are optimistic about doing a deal for Nedum Onuoha, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, and would also like to find a buyer for left-back Wayne Bridge.
Emmanuel Adebayor’s excellent form with Tottenham Hotspur is also a source of encouragement.
The Togo striker, though, would have to accept a drop in wages were he to make his move to White Hart Lane permanent. Roque Santa Cruz, on loan with Real Betis, is another play the club want to sell.
City have some 23 players out on loan and realise that this is not a sustainable model if they are to work towards the Uefa regulations.
While some players have been sent out on loan in order to aid their development, others have been sent out in the hope that they can attract buyers.
City have certainly learned how to buy players over the last three years; now, though, they must learn how to sell them.

Manchester City to go Dutch with bid for Van Persie as they look to become Europe's best
Manchester City will react to their likely exit from this season’s Champions League by stepping up their attempt to sign Robin van Persie this summer.
Although the club’s oil-rich owners will accept the Premier League title and possible success in the two domestic cups as consolation for European failure this time, they will underpin their determination to create the best team on the continent at the Etihad Stadium with a money-no-object bid for Arsenal’s 28-year-old goal machine.
The Mail On Sunday revealed City’s interest in Van Persie in September, and last week’s 2-1 defeat against Napoli, with its potential financial consequences for the club, has heightened the desire to sign the Dutchman.
Following the news of City’s £195million loss for the year ending May 31, the expectation was that an extended Champions League run — possibly even to the final — would be the launching pad for much healthier results in this financial year.
Though City said the record-breaking loss was expected and represented the low point, competing in the Europa League will bring in nowhere near the same revenue.
City will be able to cash in on UEFA’s decision to drop proposed transfer restrictions on clubs who contravene their Financial Fair Play regulations restricting clubs to losses of no more than £38m over the next three seasons.
Arsenal, one of the top clubs who supported UEFA’s initial stand, look like being one of the first to suffer from it being dropped.
Van Persie’s reluctance to extend a contract which runs out at the end of next season leaves a question mark over his future

City rebel Tevez must pass psychological tests before Milan will discuss £25m deal
AC Milan want Carlos Tevez to undergo rigorous psychological tests at the Milan Lab, their scientific centre, before they are prepared to do a £25million deal.
The Italians believe a player's state of mind is all-important because it has a direct effect on physical fitness and performance. And Milan want to be totally sure Manchester City striker Tevez - who refused to warm up before the Champions League tie at Bayern Munich and then failed to return to the club after going back to his native Argentina - is psychologically fit.
A Milan insider said: 'We all know Carlos is a great player, but the psycho-physical aspects of training are very important here.
'When we have focused on psychological factors, then we can be confident that the physical side - structural and bio-chemical aspects - will come good, too.
'He hasn't played for a while and in order to minimise the risk of injury his mind must be right.'
The Tevez camp are prepared to go along with the mind games at the Milan Lab before sealing the deal in January.

OTHER BOLLOX
Manchester United are preparing a £9m bid for Atalanta's teen sensation Manolo Gabbiadini. Metro

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp insists striker Jermain Defoe will not be sold in the January transfer window. Evening Standard

Redknapp has also ruled out bringing new players into Tottenham when the transfer window opens for business. Sunday Mirror

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish is unlikely to sign any new players in the January transfer window. Birmingham Mail

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins says Swansea will go to work in the January transfer market to ensure they are ready for the second half of the Premier League season. Swansea Evening Post

Arsenal are interested in signing Udinese's 22-year-old Romanian winger Gabriel Torje, according to the player's agent. Inside Futbol

Paris St Germain are set to make a £10m move for Arsenal's 27-year-old striker Marouane Chamakh. Sunday Mirror

Blackburn manager Steve Kean says that striker Yakubu is proving his critics wrong, following a run of positive personal performances at Ewood Park. Lancashire Telegraph

Wigan striker Victor Moses remains on course to sign a new deal with the Latics despite contract talks being put on hold. Wigan Evening Post

Bolton manager Owen Coyle says that he could go through this season without naming his strongest team, as he laments his "worst-ever" injury list. Bolton News

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew says the influence of veteran goalkeeper Steve Harper could be crucial to the continued success of the club this season. Newcastle Chronicle

Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has said he "might be disowned" if he did not support Premier League side Liverpool.
Liverpool Echo

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