Silly season officially begins today ....
MANCHESTER CITY have identified Fabio Capello as the man they want to help them become an established European force.
In the wake of last week's devastating defeat by Spurs, the Eastlands hierarchy gave manager Roberto Mancini a vote of confidence.
And he now looks certain to be in charge next season despite failing to qualify for the Champions League.
We understand, though, that Capello is the man wanted to spearhead mega-rich City's long-term ambitions.
City chiefs are prepared to wait until 2012 for Capello, who has repeatedly assured the Football Association he will honour the full four years of his England contract.
FA chiefs are delighted with the impact Capello has made on English football and want him to stay in his position regardless of the team's fortunes at the World Cup.
So unless the campaign in South Africa is an umitigated disaster, he will remain as England boss.
But City are planning way in advance and they believe Capello - even if it is in an overseeing role - is the sort of widely-respected veteran needed to take City to another level.
Mancini was described by chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak as the manager to lead the club 'for years to come'.
Should he fail to qualify for the Champions League through next season's campaign though, he will be out.
Only a failure to progress beyond the group stage in the Finals would jeopardise Capello's role with England.
FA bosses are supremely confident the Italian will stay until Euro 2012.
But if Capello did become available this summer, it might make City's top brass reassess their commitment to Mancini.
While the Italian will stay loyal to England until 2012, it is extremely unlikely he will extend his contract.
Even though he will turn 66 in 2012, Capello believes he still has a top club job left in him and Manchester City's ambitious project might just appeal. NOTW
City goalkeeper Shay Given will return from the shoulder injury he suffered last month in time for the Republic of Ireland's first Euro 2012 qualifier against Armenia in September. More inciteful stuff from NOTW
BELLERS BOLLOX
Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy is set to end up in the Champions League after all — by moving to Tottenham this summer in a cut-price £6million deal.
City boss Roberto Mancini is ready to offload any players who do not want to work with him, and his relationship with Bellamy has not recovered since the player’s complaints about over-training were met with a startling invitation from the manager to go on holiday in the middle of the season.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, who was warmly congratulated by Bellamy after Tottenham’s decisive 1-0 victory at Eastlands guaranteed their top-four finish at City’s expense on Wednesday night, has tried to sign the Wales striker before and is keen to revamp his strikeforce.
Mancini has accepted he will have less to spend than if City had finished in the top four, and is eager to raise funds by selling Stephen Ireland and Bellamy, neither of whom fit into his plans.
Bellamy is on a bumper £50,000-a-week deal at City and the club understand Spurs will not be able to match those wages if they ask for more than a half the £12m they paid West Ham in 2008.
Mancini said last night: ‘We must pay attention to what players we buy and not just spend a lot of money.’
Hamburg’s £11m midfielder Jerome Boateng is a more realistic type of signing for City than Fernando Torres, given that they will be playing in the Europa League.
Mancini also faces a battle to keep Carlos Tevez — although the Argentine’s future depends on whether either of the Spanish giants, Real Madrid or Barcelona, decide to make the striker a top target.
City finish their season at West Ham today but have left Joleon Lescott behind to train as he tries to get fit for the World Cup.
He believes the club are still attractive to players who want to come to the Premier League, despite facing another season outside the Champions League.
Lescott said: ‘I think we’ll still be linked with big players. The ambition of the club hasn’t changed. The standard of names won’t change and they are not unrealistic.
‘A couple of years ago, this club would never have been linked with the likes of Kaka. But with top players like Carlos Tevez and Ade (Emmanuel Adebayor) here, I am sure others will want to come.’ MAIL
ROQUE SANTA CRUZ could be offered as a makeweight by Manchester City in their hunt for £10m-rated Hamburg defender Jerome Boateng.
Boss Roberto Mancini is set to let the injury-plagued striker leave Eastlands.
Santa Cruz is very much open to the move.
His first season at Blackburn was a massive success but injury has dogged his last two campaigns in the country with the Paraguayan starting just five league games for City this term.
The forward spent much of his eight-year Bayern Munich career on the bench but he admits he still feels at home in Germany.
City are determined to strengthen their attack with wholesale changes to their forward line earmarked as a priority.
Defence is set to follow with Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure both sweating over their futures.
Carlos Tevez's future remains unclear while £32.5m flop Robinho is still praying Barcelona can prevent him from returning to the UK in the summer.
He has been rejuvenated by his spell at Santos but the Brazilian club cannot afford to pay his wages on a long-term basis. NOTW
TORRES BOLLOX
Manchester City will attempt to cash in on the chaos at Liverpool by offering the Merseyside club £40million for Fernando Torres.
While Anfield boss Rafa Benitez appears to be ready to perform a dramatic U-turn by rejecting an offer from Juventus and committing himself to Liverpool, Torres’s future remains in the balance.
Despite assurances from new chairman Martin Broughton that he doesn’t need to sell the Spanish striker to service the club’s £351m debts, City are still ready to weigh in with a bid for Torres which falls £20m short of Liverpool’s valuation.
City’s Abu Dhabi owners believe their chances of landing the 26-year-old forward are high after Carlo Ancelotti ruled Chelsea out of making a move.
Ancelotti said: “Torres is a fantastic player, but comes with a very expensive price tag. I won’t go for him in the summer because, with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in the squad, it’s difficult to think about signing him.”
City have been given encouragement by Torres’s advisers to test Liverpool’s resolve to keep their star.
Despite suffering the bitter disappointment of missing out on qualifying for next season’s Champions League, that won’t prevent them from launching a bid to bring in the world superstar they crave.
City may even offer Torres a clause in a £200,000-a-week contract that would give him an escape route after just 12 months if they once again fail to qualify for Europe’s top club competition.
After giving Roberto Mancini assurances about his future, City’s owners are now going to hand the Italian as much money as he wants to build a Premier League-winning side.
Ironically, City’s quest for Torres could be helped by Benitez’s failure to agree a deal to quit for Juventus.
The Turin club were willing to offer the Spaniard a £4m-a-year contract and a £5m signing-on fee.
But the initial deal stalled over Benitez’s reluctance to walk out on Liverpool without guarantees that he would be given full control over transfers and appointments to his back-room staff.
And after giving Benitez until tomorrow to make a decision, Juventus are ready to look to bring back former player and coach Didier Deschamps from Marseille after being hit by a compensation demand from Liverpool believed to be £10m.
A source close to the Italian club said: “Juventus feel they have gone as far as they can to bring Benitez to Italy.
“The latest obstacle is compensation. Time is starting to run out.” MIRROR
PETROV BOLLOX
WEST HAM will begin their rebuilding process by signing Martin Petrov on a Bosman free transfer.
The 31-year-old's contract is up at Manchester City and the left winger has been told he has no future at Eastlands.
West Ham have made their move despite continued uncertainty over Gianfranco Zola's position and Petrov is keen to move to Upton Park to revive his career.
The Bulgarian moved to Manchester City for £5million three years ago when Sven Goran Eriksson was in charge but has slipped out of the first team picture under first mark Hughes and then Roberto Mancini.
Injury forced a premature end to his campaign after he showed glimpses of his outstanding natural ability.
West Ham showed their determination to plan early for next term after tabling a bid for West Brom's Graeme Dorrans recently. NOTW
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp wants to sign Spain's veteran striker Raul from Real Madrid in a bid to strengthen Spurs' Champions League chances. News of the World
Fulham could pick up midfielder Steven Sidwell on a cut price deal after he was told he can quit Aston Villa.News of the World
WAG OF THE DAY
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OTHER BOLLOX
England coach Fabio Capello is prepared to sacrifice Rio Ferdinand from his 23-man World Cup squad if the Manchester United defender is not fully fit for this summer's tournament. Jamie Carragher, Ledley King and John Terry have all been pencilled in to travel to South Africa. News of the World
And Fulham strike Bobby Zamora will at least make Capello's provisional 30-man squad when it is announced at Wembley on Tuesday. News of the World
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill who, it's rumoured, will leave Villa Park in the summer due to his uneasy relationship with owner Randy Lerner. Sunday Mirror
Portsmouth are to try and sell their entire first team and youth team squads after the FA Cup final in an attempt to cut their 34.2million annual wage bill.Sunday Telegraph
Wayne Rooney insists he is happy to stay at Manchester United, despite claims a number of clubs are planning audacious attempts to prise him away from Old Trafford. "I have two years left on my current contract so talks haven't started yet on a new one. But I am sure after the World Cup we will sit down and speak about a new deal."The People
Sir Alex Ferguson believes only ill health would force him out of Old Trafford in the immediate future.
Mail on Sunday
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has revealed that bidding for a record-equalling 18th top-flight title can take its toll. "At 68, when you go to sleep at night all you want to do is just wake up the next morning." News of the World . . . wow
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