INTER MILAN are poised to start the bidding war for Manchester City's Yaya Toure with a £10m offer.
Toure is expected to leave the Etihad this summer and Inter boss Roberto Mancini is desperate to be re-united with the Ivorian midfielder.
The Italian giants have been hit with a £15m fine from UEFA and had their European squad reduced in size after breaking Financial Fair Play rules.
But Starsport understands this won't stop Mancini from raiding his former club.
Mancini, who signed Toure from Barcelona in 2010 when he was Etihad boss, is determined to lure him to the San Siro.
It is understood Inter bosses are willing to match his £220,000-a-week wages and offer him a coaching role at the club when he decides to retire.
Mancini is willing to sell up to four members of his squad in order to make room for Toure and help finance a deal.
He believes Toure's experience and class can help Inter challenge for honours again next season.
Toure's outspoken agent Dimitri Seluk insists he is '90 per cent certain' the former Barcelona star will leave the big-spenders at the end of this season.
But while Inter are set to make the first move for Toure, it looks like Mancini's men will face stiff competition for his services.
It is understood AS Roma are also keen on Toure, while Dubai billionaires Al-Ahli FC are also considering offering him a mega-bucks deal in the hope of luring him to the United Arab Emirates.
Mancini said: "I've always said he's a Manchester City player, but we'd be delighted if we could sign him for Inter.
"We have to respect the (UEFA) regulations, but I strongly believe Inter will be very competitive next season. We'll only sacrifice players if the team can emerge stronger for it."
Toure, who is 32 tomorrow, still has two years left on his current deal. Etihad bosses have refused to discuss his immediate future, but owner Sheikh Mansour has targeted Juventus ace Paul Pogba as his long-term replacement.
City are willing to offer £70m for Pogba and make him the highest-paid midfielder in world football on £250,000-a-week AFTER TAX.
Kevin De Bruyne's agent confirms Man City have made contact over £35m-rated star
Read more at http://talksport.com/football/exclusive ... Manchester City have made an approach for Kevin De Bruyne, but will face competition from Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain for the Wolfsburg playmaker.
De Bruyne has been in outstanding form in Germany since his move from Chelsea in 2014, netting ten goals and claiming 19 assists this season to help the Bundesliga side clinch a Champions League spot.
He has been heavily linked with a move to City in recent months, with the club looking to make radical changes to the squad in the summer after a season without any silverware.
The 23-year-old's agent, Patrick De Koster, has now exclusively confirmed to talkSHIT that City have registered their interest in his client.
But he insists De Bruyne has yet to make a decision over his future, and claims the £35million-rated Belgian ace also being chased by Bayern Munich and PSG.
De Koster said: “I have a meeting with Klaus Allofs [Wolfsburg's sporting director] next week to find out what they want to do. I will know if they want to offer a Kevin a new deal or allow him to move.
“Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have made informal contact with me, but there have been no official offers.
"The situation has now changed with Wolfsburg qualifying for the Champions League next season, so wherever he plays next season it will be in the Champions League.
“If Wolfsburg decide to sell Kevin, then he will have a choice of clubs who can win their domestic league and challenge for the Champions League as well. The choice is his.”
City deal HUGE blow to United and Chelsea’s pursuit of €100m-rated star
Manchester City have held initial talks with Juventus over a possible move for €100 million-rated midfielder Paul Pogba, according to Sky Sports Italia.
It is understood that City’s representatives travelled to Turin to talk with Pogba over a move to the Etihad Stadium this summer.
Last season’s Premier League champions face a tough task to secure Pogba’s services as he is being chased by some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain.
Italian champions Juventus are hopeful of keeping their star man, who is contracted until 2019, and have set an asking price of €100 million in an attempt to fend off interest.
City are understood to be the first club to make advances on the player by visiting Turin but PSG are reportedly ready to stump up the asking price to beat of competition for the French international.
Pogba could yet find himself playing in this season’s Champions League final as his Juventus side take a narrow 2-1 lead into their semi-final second leg against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Yaya Toure is expected to leave City this summer and Pogba is viewed as the perfect replacement should he do so.
Aguero reveals diet changes
A different diet has changed Manchester City star Sergio Aguero's career.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has revealed a drastic change in his diet has been a key reason behind his form this season.
Aguero netted a hat-trick in City's 6-0 thrashing of QPR in the Premier League on Sunday, taking his league tally to 25 goals in 2014-15.
The 26-year-old Argentina international suffered from muscle injuries last season, and said that led to his diet change.
"I went to a doctor in Italy and he checked everything we did. And I had to change quite a bit - no more pasta, no more sugar and no meat, which I used to eat quite a bit because Argentinian meat is very good," Aguero said.
"Hopefully this season has proved that it has worked and I can stay the same until the end of my career.
"Touch wood, I haven't had any muscle injuries this season, only the knee problem."
While the knee injury slowed Aguero's season, he has found form late in the campaign - scoring in five straight games for eight goals in that period.
But, with the golden boot all but sealed, Aguero said all he wanted was for City to be successful.
"I started the season very well, but then got injured, and after I came back with the more minutes I played, I got better and better," Aguero said.
"I try to do that every season. I'm here to score goals and play as many games as possible.
"Every season is different - I hope I can keep scoring like this, but defenders now know me a bit better and defend against me in different ways.
"My job is to score goals, but what I really want next season is for City to win titles."
Manuel Pellegrini's men are 11 points behind Chelsea with two games remaining.
Guardiola rubbishes City job link and insists he will manage Bayern Munich next season
BAYERN Munich boss Pep Guardiola has categorically denied suggestions he will replace Manuel Pellegrini as manager of deposed Premier League champions Manchester City next season.
Guardiola, who has won a domestic league title in five of his six campaigns as a manager, was reported to have reached a verbal agreement with the Etihad Stadium hierarchy to replace Pellegrini this summer.
Pellegrini’s tenure has fallen under the spotlight after City failed to retain the Premier League crown they won under the Chilean’s leadership last year, following the club’s continued inability to reach the latter stages of the Champions League.
“I have already said 200 million times, I’ll be here next season, that’s it,” said Guardiola. “I have a year left on my contract. Next season I will be here.”
Guardiola faces a potentially perilous assignment in the second leg of his side’s Champions League semi-final against former club Barcelona tonight. Bayern trail 3-0 after a harrowing final 15 minutes at Camp Nou last week.
“We’re Bayern, before a game I’ve never said that we have no chance. Of course we do,” he added. “Barcelona are strong on the break. If we let something slip, they’ll punish us. We have to control the game.”
Man City Facing £32M+ Transfer Fee
Manchester City are preparing for what will be a crucial summer transfer window for them.
City’s ageing squad needs a revamp. Their submissive end to the season is clear proof of this as they limp towards the finish line in defeat, 12 points behind title rivals Chelsea.
Change is expected and needed if City are to challenge for the title next season and whether Pellegrini will be at the helm to oversee it, is yet to be said.
Metro have reported that a substantial sized bid of around £32.9 million could be made for 22 year old Juventus forward, Alvaro Morata.
Morata, formerly of Real Madrid, is highly rated across Europe and ex Madrid mentor, Michel, once claimed that he was ‘part Van Basten, part Benzema’. 32 goals for Spain at junior level somewhat justifies such high praise for the Juve man.
Evidence this season suggests that he is doing it on the big stage having slowly broken into the first team, striking up a scintillating partnership with Carlos Tevez as the pair memorably dismantled Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last 16 clash.
With Manchester City likely to offload Stefan Jovetic and perhaps even Edin Dzeko in the summer to fund a potential deal, James Milner and Samir Nasri are both being eyed up by Roberto Mancini at Inter.
A cloud of uncertainty around Yaya Toure’s future at the club looms, so City will be desperate to bring in adequate replacements with potential to develop.
Alvaro Morata certainly fits that bill.
However, Juventus will do all they can to resist a deal, whilst Real Madrid are constantly monitoring the situation as a complex buy back deal was built into Morata’s Juve contract, effectively covering Los Blanco’s’ backs after cashing in on some promising home grown talent.
Just What Went Wrong At Man City?
With Chelsea winning the league before the end of the season many City fans will be wondering slightly where have all the good times gone?
With all that money spent on players like Fernandinho, Navas, Bony and Mangala you would have thought that the Sky Blues would be strolling to three points in every match and should have seen off the race to the EPL title at Christmas.
So whose fault is it really?
Well some blame must go on Pellegrini, the Chilean was certainly the man to watch in his first season as City reclaimed the EPL title but with performances in the Champions League, Capitol One Cup and FA Cup this season it seems as if there will be another £150 million spent at the Etihad this summer to bring in yet more read made talent to challenge Chelsea.
Most probably it will be all change and another high profile manager will come in to try and sate the appetites of both the owners and the fans.
The signings this season may have left a lot to desired however.
Mangala seemed to be not just out of sorts with defending but with football in general. For his price tag of around £32 Million according to the Daily Mail you would have thought that he would have been worth every penny but sadly not. Anyone paying that amount for a defender would expect him to perform from minute one.
Some of the investments in this footballing season have been mediocre at best. Navas, whilst showing his potential on the wings just isn’t the man he was when he played for Sevilla.
Whilst Fernandinho has been better than most of the summer signings it seems as if City are tripping over midfielders when what they need is someone who can actually defend alongside Kompany and someone who can bring in the goals when Augero is injured.
Even with Dzeko, Negredo and Stevan Jovetic you would have thought that the addition of Bony from Swansea would have delivered them the EPL with games to spare (even with Negredo out on loan)
Personally I think there will be a large clear out when it comes to players and staff. Pellegrini has not delivered the goods and he will probably pay with his job despite giving City back the EPL title last year.
Some of the players he has signed have simply not been good enough for the money they have paid for them.
But with all this, is this the by-product of a team who aren’t deemed ‘successful’ unless they win everything all the time.
Are they victims of their own investment and success?
They have been extremely lucky in terms of investment, players and managers however when buying readymade talent for all that money, you do tend to wonder whether keeping that team together is a whole lot harder than doing it with a team who has worked their way up from the bottom and can actually relate to one another.
I’m not saying the City players are in-human and anti-social but you must wonder with players on such massive wages and coming from all corners of the world’s best footballing leagues whether that has an effect on the overall mentality of the team.
However the same could well be said for teams like Liverpool, United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
The Importation of foreign talent has become normality in this day and age however when it comes to doing it every season when the need to bring in new faces is the same as that need you get to go down the shops then surely something needs to change.
Even with City’s financial resources, wealth of talent available and potential to go out and win the title in the 16/17 season you wonder how it will actually happen?
By just out spending your opponents until it becomes a league for those who can only spend £30 million or more on players (or failing that just one player)
I feel sorry for those players in the City academy where you think, when will they actually get their chance to appear for the first XI?
Fans and Critics will demand that more and more money be spent to get their title winning campaign back on track so in any case why bother having an academy when you aren’t going to use it.
Man City are very very lucky, they have the money, the players, the owner and to add to that a very good manager who has given them the EPL title once already.
I don’t know what the remedy is for all this but one thing is for sure throwing money at this won’t make it any better.
Man Utd Class of 92 graduate Simon Davies guiding Man City's next generation
The Manchester City Under-21s coach says there is talent in the academy, but they are not yet consistent enough yet.
As Manchester City look to create a production line of world-class academy products, it can't hurt to have a Class of 92 graduate in charge of their youngsters.
Simon Davies started working with City's Under-16s after a playing career that started in that famous youth side and went on to include spells at Macclesfield and Bangor.
For the last two years he has worked alongside Patrick Vieira looking after the Under-21s.
The team head to Old Trafford on Tuesday night (7pm) for their first derby of the season, and as City look for a star Davies will be keeping an eye on who raises their game.
"It's another part of their development," he said.
"I'm not going to say that it doesn't affect them but can these young players perform on big stages?
"If they can't play in an Under-21s game against United or in a youth Champions League game then unfortunately that might be a problem when they go to the next level because every game is huge - it demands performance and results."
Davies puts the young players through their paces
How quickly players can bridge the gap to the first team relies partly on the quality in the senior set-up, something Davies believes the Class of 92 benefitted from.
"There was huge potential in that group," he said.
"There was some that got there very quickly like Ryan [Giggs] but most of it was because the side was in need of change at that time.
"It wasn't the strongest United team and opportunity came their way where there were ready-made answers in terms of good young players coming through so I think those two things combined made it easier for the manager to give them a chance."
City's rout of QPR on Sunday highlighted the task the young Blues face to break through.
While they have shown progress this season - reaching the FA Youth Cup final and winning the Premier League International Cup - only Jose Pozo has played under Manuel Pellegrini, the manager preferring to rely on senior stars.
Davies is confident in City's future, but believes the youngsters have not been ready this season to make an impact on the first team.
"The manager has given them chances when they've merited it so there's no problem with that at all," he said.
"The boys have to prove consistently in the 21s and in Europe that they are the best and they are warranting this opportunity. We haven't really had the players at the moment that will do that but don't forget they're only young and the Premier League debuts are getting higher
"I would say we have got some of the hottest young players in the country here, if not in Europe. It's exciting times and I'm sure there will be young players coming through at this football club."
Manchester United are convinced goalkeeper David De Gea's future will not be decided by money, but rather where the 24-year-old wants to play next season. (Manchester Evening News)
Chelsea hope to sign Brazil Under-20 international Robert Kenedy for £4.5m from Fluminense. But the Blues would then have to loan the 19-year-old striker to a European club in order for him to become eligible for a work permit. (Guardian)
Liverpool are preparing a move for Burnley striker Danny Ings, 22, following the Clarets' relegation from the Premier League. (Liverpool Echo)
Manchester United winger Ashley Young, 29, hopes his recent good form will be enough to earn him an England recall. (Telegraph)
Serie A side Lazio are considering a move for Liverpool striker Fabio Borini. The Reds wanted £12m for the 24-year-old but may accept less. (DSSCl)
Liverpool have been scouting Real Sociedad defender Inigo Martinez, 23, and are prepared to pay his £21.7m release clause. (Star)
Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat says the job will be his last in football, but does not know if he will be in charge of the Black Cats next season. (Sunderland Echo)
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says the club will not adopt a softer style of play to avoid players being booked in their final two games. The Hammers are in contention to qualify for next season's Europa League via the Fair Play League. (London Evening Standard)
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, 31, is unhappy at Louis van Gaal's decision to not play him against Crystal Palace. (Sun)
A takeover of Aston Villa could be completed by July. Randy Lerner, the American tycoon who bought the club for just over £60m, is keen to sell his stake. (Sky Sports)
Germany striker Max Kruse has rejected a move to the Premier League. The 27-year-old, a target for Tottenham, Southampton and Newcastle, has instead opted to move to Wolfsburg from Borussia Monchengladbach. (Express)
Former Manchester United and Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez will be offered a one-year contract extension to stay at Juventus. The 31-year-old Argentina international has been linked with a move to Boca Juniors. (Football Italia)
Former Liverpool and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres is impressed by the London club's supporters giving a standing ovation to Reds captain Steven Gerrard on Sunday. Torres writes on Instagram: "Chelsea fans show their respect to the legend Steven Gerrard. Rivalry apart this is what is football about. So proud for the two clubs I have played for in England. #Respect."
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique shows off the shirts he has collected throughout his playing career with a picture on Twitter. The impressive haul includes shirts from Thierry Henry, Carlos Tevez, Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Neymar, David Beckham, Luis Suarez and Andrea Pirlo.
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva writes on Instagram about what his club means to him: "Eight years already. It seems like yesterday. I remember everything. Every goal (not many), every win, every game. I am so grateful to the club, to the city, to you guys. I hope I can enjoy many more moments with this shirt."
The most expensive tickets for the pre-season friendly between Manchester United and Barcelona in California on 25 July will cost almost £1,000. (Mirror)
A steward at the Mexican league match between Santos and Puebla ran on to the pitch and rugby-tackled a fan just before he charged towards the referee. (Metro)
Tickets to see Steven Gerrard's last home match for Liverpool - against Crystal Palace on Saturday - are being sold for £2,000. (DSSC)
