Man City have appointed former Blackburn Rovers chairman and expert salesman John Williams to offload some of their expensive misfits and first out of the revolving door will be this lot.
talkSHITE take a look at some of City's outgoing players and where they're most likely to <AHEM> end up ...
Roque Santa Cruz - BLACKBURN
The Paraguyan could be one of the trickier players to move on as he picks up 90k a week at Eastlands and his contract runs until June 2013. City may look to loan him out for a year if they fail to recoup enough of the £17m they paid Rovers to bring him to Manchester in 2009, while Blackburn are still the only club to express an interest in the former Bayern Munich striker, despite a disappointing loan spell last season.
Craig Bellamy - Everton, Stoke OR CELTIC
Bellamy surprised a lot of people by dropping into the Championship last season to play for Cardiff and although he stood out for the Welsh club when available, they fell short at the play-off stage for a second successive season. Harry Redknapp is a long time admirer of his but Mancini would prefer to sell to Everton, Stoke or Celtic, who will not challenge City's Premier League assault next season.
WAYNE BRIDGE - Liverpool
After failing to shine for West Ham last year, Wayne Bridge must have laughed in disbelief when rumours circulated linking him with Liverpool this week, but it seems Kenny Dalglish may be willing to hand the former Chelsea man a chance at Anfield. It's not a signing to particularly excite Liverpool fans, but surely he can't settle any worse than Paul Konchesky did?
Shaun Wright-Phillips - ASTON Villa OR BOLTON
You have to feel for the nippy winger, who was the main man at City when he left for Chelsea but now finds himself struggling for games following an expensive overhaul at the club. Close pal Zat Knight says: "I always talk to Shaun and he’s a very good friend of mine. And speaking to him, he’d love to come to Bolton." Wright-Phillips may need to accept a pay cut to join the Trotters, though, unless Aston Villa - also interested - tempt him with a bigger pay packet.
Shay Given - ASTON VILLA, West Brom OR CELTIC
Undoubtedly one of the most gifted goalkeepers in the Premier League on his day, Shay Given was a wasted talent with Joe Hart in goal for Man City last season. Mancini would love a deputy of Given's ilk for another year but will have to accept his number two's wish to play regular football. West Brom and Celtic were said to be interested but the Irish international now looks set to join Alex McLeish at Aston Villa.
EMANUEL ADEBAYOR - BLACKBURN OR MARSEILLE
The Togan forward did reasonably well on loan at Real Madrid - scoring twice in a 4-0 Champions League rout over Spurs - but Jose Mourinho has decided to turn his attentions elsewhere in the search for a new striker. Blackburn boss Steve Kean - armed with a £30m transfer kitty - has reportedly made the former Arsenal man one of his main summer targets. But the Scot will face a tricky task persuading him to play for a club likely to be challenging at the wrong end of the Premier League table, while Adebayor's bulky wages could also prove a stumbling block.
THE BOLLOX ROUND UP
Manchester City offer £6m for Partizan Belgrade defender Stefan Savic
Roberto Mancini is aiming to make Partizan Belgrade defender Stefan Savic his first summer signing at Manchester City after lodging a £6 million offer for the Montenegro international.
Mancini, whose hopes of luring Alexis Sanchez to Eastlands appear to be diminishing following the Chilean winger’s insistence that he will stay at Udinese if he fails to agree a move to Barcelona, has identified Savic as his leading defensive target after abandoning plans to sign Bolton’s Gary Cahill.
But Partizan have warned City that they will not sell the 20 year-old until next month at the earliest after insisting that he plays in the Champions League qualifier against FK Skendija.
Uefa regulations allow for players to play in the Champions League group stages for their new club if their previous club has been eliminated in the qualifying rounds. However, should Savic help Partizan qualify for the group stages, as they did last season, then the exemption would not apply and he would be cup-tied for City’s group stage campaign.
Partizan are keen to retain Savic until the January transfer window, but the club are prepared to consider City’s offer following the second leg of the Skendija tie on July 20.
The Serbian champions value Savic at £9 million and they are likely to hold out for that figure due to a sell-on clause which entitles the player’s former club, BSK Borca, to half of any transfer fee.
Mancini regards Savic as offering better value and long-term potential than Cahill, who is expected to complete a £17 million transfer from Bolton to Arsenal this week.
But City could [strike]still do business with Bolton this summer by allowing midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips to leave Eastlands for the Reebok.
Bolton failed to complete a loan deal for the England international in January, but the former Chelsea player has told friends at the Reebok that he is keen to move to the club in order to secure regular football.
Wright-Phillips is one of several City players who have been told they can leave this summer should a suitable offer be made.
But Emmanuel Adebayor, a £25 million signing from Arsenal two years ago, has rejected the chance to move to Paris St Germain less than a week after turning down a transfer to Zenit St Petersburg.
Meanwhile, former City captain Mike Doyle has died after losing his battle with liver disease at the age of 64.
Doyle, who won every domestic honour and the European Cup-Winners’ Cup during his 16-year career with City, became a legendary figure at Maine Road during the most successful period in the club’s history in the 1960s and 1970s.
Everton are keen on Manchester City pair Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy, with both players set to leave Eastlands this summer. Experienced striker Bellamy spent last season on loan at Championship side Cardiff after falling out with City boss Roberto Mancini while Wright-Phillips is on the lookout for a move to secure regular first-team football.
David Moyes is a fan of both players, who could be available relatively cheaply as City look to trim their large wage bill, but the Blues will face stiff competition for the duo.
Bolton have been heavily linked with Wright-Phillips while a host of Premier League clubs and Celtic are monitoring Bellamy's situation.
Everton are short of cash but are expected to sell Joseph Yobo to Fenerbahce this week to create some funds so Moyes can begin to improve his squad ahead of next season.
However, the big stumbling block in the deals could be the pair's wage demands as Everton are unlikely to be able to match what City can pay so both would be forced to take a wage cut.
Macclesfield Town sign 'special' Kay from Manchester City
Gary Simpson has pulled off a major coup, securing the signature of Manchester City midfielder Scott Kay.
With first-team opportunities limited at Eastlands the 22-year-old has agreed a 12-month deal with the Silkmen and instantly targeted Football League action as his main aim.
Kay, who won the FA Youth Cup with the Sky Blues in 2008, was an unused substitute during City’s Europa League bid but the defensive-minded youngster couldn’t dislodge established stalwarts in a similar mould, such as Nigel De Jong, Yaya Toure and Patrick Vieira.
"Scott has been captaining the reserve side at City but he hasn’t had any first-team experience," said the Macc manager.
"He needs that to progress his career and we needed to give him incentives to bring him here and, at the end of the day, the better he performs the better it will be for him.
"We need to ‘sell the club’ and put packages together that will be of benefit to these lads.
"He’s got a good pedigree and our aim is to get lads like Scott in, improve them and see how far they can go.
"I’m happy we’ve got him, he fits in with what we try to do here, we want to get the best possible players for what resources we have."
Despite the signing of Kay and the re-signing of Lewis Chalmers, Simpson can no longer call upon veteran Paul Bolland and is on the hunt for another midfielder, one that will offer the goal threat of the departing Hamza Bencherif.
"While we got a good deal for Hamza, I’ve got to try to replace him; that’s my main concern, getting an 11-goal-a-season midfielder," he conceded.
"Whether that will be from two strikers – because we don’t have Ricky Sappleton any more – or from a striker and an attacking midfielder I don’t know yet.
"Somehow we’ve got to look at getting those goals from midfield.
"I’m still on the lookout for these ‘golden nuggets’ that we’d like to bring in.
"A young hungry lad might be cheaper but it might not necessarily be the right option, we’ve been in for a lot of players this summer but we’ve just been outbid by several clubs."
The constraints of Macclesfield’s sparse budget means that Simpson will have to bide his time in order to snap up the right players.
However, he’s confident that, come the big kick-off at home to Dagenham on August 6, the right blend will be taking to the field for the Silkmen’s Football League season number 15.
"I won’t lie to people, whether they’re players or agents, and say that we can compete with the best offers out there," he added.
"Some of our targets have gone elsewhere for colossal wages, and I can’t fault people for getting the best deal for him and his family.
"Bolly (Bolland) told me he didn’t want to leave but the money on offer on a two-year deal for a lad his age was too good to turn down."
"It’s frustrating for me but we’ll do the best we can.
"We’ve got a few more targets so I think we’ll be in good shape by the time the season kicks off."
STAR BOLLOX
CHELSEA and Manchester City are in a battle to sign Brazilian star Neymar after BOTH had £40m bids for him accepted.
Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro says Chelsea and Manchester City have been given permission to speak to the 19-year-old sensation.
But Chelsea face competition from Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala after all five agreed to meet the mammoth release clause in Neymar’s contract in a bid to bring him to Europe.
Chelsea first went after Neymar last summer and they want to make him their first marquee signing under new boss Andre Villas-Boas.
Ribeiro said: “There is a release clause in his contract that can be paid. Five European clubs have offered to match the clause.
“I cannot name them because there is an agreement between Santos and the clubs, but they are the most important European clubs.
“They have asked to speak to the player, and we’ve allowed them to.” City have the cash to win a bidding war for the player, although he is understood to favour a move to a more established club.
But Anzhi Makhachkala are regarded as outsiders because of the racist abuse endured by their captain Roberto Carlos in Russia.
Chelsea had two bids for Neymar rejected last summer and Santos even accused them of making an illegal approach for the teenager.
But Ribeiro claims that is now water under the bridge. He said: “Last year, Chelsea’s attitude was different. Their first action was to seek out the player’s representatives.
“With this approach, they can talk to anyone – with Neymar’s father and with his agent and representatives.”
Starbollox understands Neymar already has a contract offer on the table from both Chelsea and Madrid
OTHER BOLLOX
Legend Lee walks out on Liverpool in latest change in Dalglish revolution
Sammy Lee has left Liverpool after three years as assistant manager.
The 52-year-old fans favourite was brought back to Anfield in 2008 as Rafa Benitez's No 2 but the arrival of first team coach Steve Clarke in January has forced him to play a less significant role in manager Kenny Dalglish's backroom team.
Clarke agreed a new three-year deal soon after Dalglish was confirmed as the club's permanent boss in May and is likely to elevated to assistant.
Lee has been linked with a possible reunion with Sam Allardyce at West Ham.
The pair worked together at Bolton five years ago before Lee succeeded Allardyce as Wanderers boss for a brief 11-match stint before being axed.
Allardyce is understood to be reshuffling his coaching set-up at Upton Park as he aims to guide his new club out of the Championship and back to the Barclays Premier League at the first attempt this season.
But he recently appointed former Blackburn Rovers right-hand man Neil McDonald as his Hammers assistant meaning Lee would have to take up a role as first team coach - a position already held by Kevin Keen
Barcelona have made an improved £34m offer for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and are also hoping to recruit Samir Nasri for £20m. Daily Mirror
The Blues owner Roman Abramovich will block former boss Jose Mourinho's £18m move to lure midfielder Michael Essien to Real Madrid. the Sun
Chelsea intend to open talks with Didier Drogba aimed at extending the 33-year-old striker's stay at Stamford Bridge after his former club Marseille suggested publicly they would be capable of putting together a deal to bring him back to France. the Guardian
But Turkish club Galatasaray are ready to bid again for Drogba in an effort to pair him with Bolton striker Johan Elmander. the Guardian
Chelsea are monitoring developments with Sergio Aguero after his advisers held talks with Atletico Madrid in an attempt to get the Argentina striker's release clause reduced from £42m to £32m. Daily Mail
Barcelona may turn their attention to Manchester United winger Nani if they fail in their pursuit of in-demand Udinese star Alexis Sanchez. Talksport
Arsenal are hoping to announce the signing of Lille's Ivory Coast striker Gervinho and that is likely to be followed by a move for Bolton's England centre half Gary Cahill and Blackburn's Chris Samba. Daily Mirror
New Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish wants Real Madrid midfielder Sergio Canales to be his first big signing on a season-long loan. Daily Mirror
Former Chelsea defender Juliano Belletti has retired from football aged 34 because of an Achilles tendon injury. Daily Mail
Everton star Phil Neville has dropped the price of his luxury three-bedroom three-storey Manchester city centre flat by £250,000 to £3.75m. Daily Mirror
With an eye on the first English Premiership League game of the season coming up we continue to focus on ....
Welsh Bollox
Swansea City Chairman Jenkins Speaks To TalkSport
Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show, Jenkins spoke about the need to keep onto Neil Tailor and how he plans on keeping Swansea City in the top flight by continuing to play attractive, attacking football and plans to increase the stadium capacity through success.
Speaking about how well the season tickets have sold:
'yeah, they've gone very well, we've sold out of every seat we could sell. We've kept a few back for match-day sales and that's really encouraging.
We hope we can continue this and stay in the Premiership now and perhaps even enhance our stadium and get more seats in'
When asked about the Neil Taylor situation he responded by saying:
"We bought Neil in last year from Wrexham in the Conference and he`s done very well in the Championship in his first season.
"I believe the time is wrong for him to move on at the moment though.
I wouldn`t deprive any player of moving on if he felt it was the right time for the club and the player, that`s part and parcel of the game these days.
"He`s such a young lad though and it`s about playing games.
'You`d think that he`s got more chance of playing games in the Premier League for us than trying to compete for a place at Newcastle.
"As things stand though we`ve turned down their initial offer so we`ll go from there."
You get the feeling though, that until Neil Taylor has a new contract, him leaving the Liberty Stadium still remains a possibility even with Newcastle United appearing to cool interest in the player.
Ambitious and up-beat Huw Jenkins has a long term plan and that ambition is surely filtering its way down through the spine of the club, which can only impress the fans.
Bollox Bollox
Twitter Perv claims to have more pictures
FOOTIE chiefs were last night still hunting a mystery Twitter pervert who posted naked photos of Premier League aces.
Manchester City stars including England goalie Joe Hart and Wales striker Craig Bellamy were secretly snapped in the dressing room at home and away games.
The voyeur then posted the pics on Twitter for millions of fans worldwide to see.
The perv claims to have nude pictures of virtually every Premier League player and one post said: "My perfect day was when I seen Joe Hart in the shower for the 1st time."
The snapper, who claims to work for Chelsea and TV firm Endemol, even taunts victims via Twitter.
Man United's Michael Owen was told: "I had a phone on my chest filming you in the shower."
Everton skipper Phil Neville received a tweet saying: "I've seen you naked about 20 times Phil."
Man City called in lawyers to get the snaps removed and launched an investigation after being alerted by The Sun.
Endemol said it had no information suggesting the perv works for the firm.
Chelsea said it was impossible to say if they worked for the club.
Police vowed to investigate if any player makes a complaint.
