City News & Rumour Mill

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Man City boss Eriksson targets younger signings

Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson intends to bring down the average age of his first team squad.

Eriksson has invested £8.8million to bring striker Ronaldo Bianchi from Reggina and also recruited Switzerland Under-21 captain Gelson Fernandes from Sion for an undisclosed fee.

Bianchi, 24, looked on from the stand as the former England manager marked his first game in charge by seeing his team defeat League One side Doncaster 3-1 in a friendly.

Eriksson said: "We have signed two young players and I hope the supporters are happy.

"That is the way we need to go for young players are the future of the club.

"Everyone knows there is a fantastic academy here at City and we must build on that.

"Fernandes is the best young talent in Switzerland and I am very happy he is here. I plan to play him a holding role."

Eriksson has also recruited Hans Backe as his assistant manager and he was in the dug-out today.

"Hans has a lot of experience and I am sure he will bring a lot to the club," Eriksson added.

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Man City move for Tottenham's Gardner

Manchester City have joined Aston Villa in the chase for Spurs' £3million-rated centre-back Anthony Gardner.

Injuries have blighted Gardner's career, but he has still made 138 appearances since joining Tottenham in 2000.

But with Younes Kaboul joining Ledley King, Michael Dawson and Ricardo Rocha at White Hart Lane, and Curtis Davies still strongly linked with a move, it seems Gardner will now be allowed to leave.

Villa had appeared favourites to land the lanky defender, but the Daily Mail reports new City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson - who gave Gardner an England cap in 2004 - sees the former Port Vale man as a possible replacement for Sylvain Distin, who left Eastlands for Portsmouth earlier this summer.

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Man City eyeing Atletico Madrid winger Petrov

Manchester City are closing in on Atletico Madrid winger Martin Petrov.

City appear to be tracking Petrov, but as yet have made no official move to sign the Atletico Madrid player, says the Manchester Evening News.

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Vassell set to be cut loose by Man City

Darius Vassell is set to be sold by Manchester City.

The Mirror says Vassell was a cheap capture by Stuart Pearce but he may be allowed to go now for around £1.5million and news of that availability has already been flashed around Premiership clubs.

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Man City rival Blackburn for Santa Cruz

Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson is keen on Bayern Munich striker Roque Santa Cruz.

The Paraguay international is available from Bayern and keen on a move to the Premiership. Along with City, Blackburn Rovers are also keen on Santa Cruz.

Source: tribalfootball.com

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City trying for Petrov

Skysports.com understands that Manchester City are locked in talks over Martin Petrov.

The Bulgaria international has emerged as one of Sven Goran Eriksson's main targets.

The Swede is eyeing up to a dozen signings before the transfer window closes at the end of August.

It is believed that talks are now ongoing over a move for Petrov, but City are confident they can strike a deal with Atletico Madrid.

Petrov missed most of last season with knee ligament damage, but he made a successful comeback late in the campaign.

Petrov was linked with a move to Tottenham earlier in the summer and it seems he may be surplus to requirements at the Vicente Calderon, although Atletico will want to recoup the £6.5million they paid Wolfsburg for him in 2005.

Source: Skysports

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Sven aiming to buy British

Sven Goran Eriksson is looking to bring more homegrown players to Manchester City.

The former England boss has already signed Rolando Bianchi and Gelson Fernandes since being appointed as manager earlier this month.

He is planning to secure several more new faces before the start of the new season and would like a nucleus of British players in his squad.

"That would be very good," Eriksson told Sky Sports News.

"It is not easy to find good British players but we are trying.

"We are trying and if we have a little bit of patience we will see it soon.

"Everybody knows that we need some more faces here."

Eriksson is refusing to set any ambitious targets before he has assembled his final squad but hopes City will at least be competitive in the Premier League.

"It is difficult before we have the final squad but one target is not to play near the bottom of the league," explained the Swede.

"That should be the first big target for us.

"Once the squad is finished we can talk about targets. It is a little bit early."

Source: Skysports

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City begin Johnson talks

Manchester City have opened talks with starlet Michael Johnson in a bid to keep him at the club, skysports.com can confirm.

The 19-year-old midfielder is an England youth international, who has made a big impact on the first-team picture at Eastlands.

He made his debut late last year and went on to make ten Premiership starts for City - and was one of the few highlights in an otherwise disappointing campaign.

Johnson's displays, though, are known to have caught the eye of a number of top managers and Rafa Benitez is believed to be very keen on luring him to Liverpool.

Johnson has three years left on his current deal, but City are ready to offer him fresh terms following his breakthrough into the first team and they hope that will fend off any potential interest.

The player's agent Peter Harrison confirmed that talks are ongoing.

"I can confirm we are holding talks with Manchester City about a new contract," Harrison told skysports.com.

"Michael is an outstanding talent and made a huge impact last season.

"We are now looking to sort out his future and are talking with the club."

Source: Skysports

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Vassell bid rejected

Manchester City have rejected a bid for Darius Vassell from Turkish side Besiktas.

There have been rumours that Sven Goran Eriksson was prepared to let the striker leave as he looks to rebuild the squad ahead of the new season.

However, it now appears the striker, who earned 22 England caps under Eriksson, may have a future at the City of Manchester Stadium.

A statement on the club's website said: "Manchester City can confirm that they have received an offer from Besiktas for Darius Vassell, which has been rejected by the club.

"The player is part of the 22-man squad currently on the pre-season tour of Sweden."

The details of the bid have not been released.

Source: Skysports

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Man City rival Liverpool for Chiellini

Manchester City are eyeing Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Aware that Chiellini has been unsettled by interest arriving from Liverpool, Tuttosport says Sven Goran Eriksson's City are also keen on the Italy U21 captain.

Juve are ready to sell Chiellini should an offer of £7 million arrive.

He's not the first Liverpool target Eriksson want.Almost every player Liverpool have target since Eriksson took over City he has tried to rival to sign them.Very annoying.Does he use the same scouts as Liverpool???

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Inter brace for mega Ibra offer from Man City

Inter Milan are bracing themselves for a mega offer from Manchester City arriving for star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

City boss Sven Goran Eriksson, armed with a reported transfer budget of £200 MILLION, is planning to test Inter's resolve over his fellow Swede, who has had run-ins with club management since the end of the Serie A season.

Eriksson has already rocked Italian football by taking one of Serie A's brightest attacking talents, Rolando Bianchi, to Eastlands and is now ready to return with a mega bid for Ibrahimovic.

Another Inter player in Eriksson's sights is young Swede Goran Slavkovski, who is rated highly by his City backroom staff, Hans Backe and Tord Grip.

Source: tribalfootball.com

Forget it Svennis.You will never get Zlatan.

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Olympiakos have approached Manchester City about a price for Georgios Samaras.Samaras is expected to be offloaded by City and Olympiakos are the latest European club to ask for information about his situation.

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Manchester City are eyeing Nantes midfielder Emerse Fae.

L'Equipe says the Ivory Coast international is a top target for City boss Sven Goran Eriksson.

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Man City favourites for Atletico Madrid's Petrov

Manchester City are favourites to sign Atletico Madrid winger Martin Petrov.

Tottenham have apparently been tracking the Bulgaria international all summer but Eriksson has made Petrov a target - and the former England boss is now on the verge of landing the 28-year-old, according to the Daily Mirror.

Atletico paid Wolfsburg £8million for Petrov in 2005 and the Spanish side are likely to want a similar fee from City, who are armed with a hefty transfer warchest following Thaksin Shinawatra's takeover.

Petrov has made 43 appearances since moving to La Liga, scoring twice.

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Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson is chasing Sevilla's Serbian hard-man Ivica Dragutinovic to toughen up his defence.

Left-sided centre half or left-back Dragutinovic, 31, is an international teammate of United's Nemanja Vidic and could be following him to Manchester this week if the clubs can agree a fee of around £2million.