We can't buy until we sell, says Mancini as Man City tighten the purse-strings

Manchester City might have spent more than £600million on new players under Abu Dhabi rule, but manager Roberto Mancini admits he must sell before he can buy when the transfer window reopens next week.

Carlos Tevez, still valued at £40million by City, would command by far the biggest transfer fee and Mancini also hopes to offload defenders Wayne Bridge and Nedum Onuoha.

He is concerned that injuries could derail City’s Premier League title challenge, with Yaya and Kolo Toure set to be missing for a month from mid-January on African Nations Cup duty.

But after more than three years of lavish spending, City’s wealthy owners are insisting on a more pragmatic approach.

‘Now we need to sell two or three players and then we’ll see,’ said Mancini. 

‘We want to sell and after that we may have time to buy someone if it’s possible.

‘But it’s not easy. I ask the owner for Messi but it’s not possible! 

‘Until now we have been lucky because we didn’t have any big injuries. This could be a problem in January because we lose Yaya and Kolo, and I hope we don’t lose any other players through injury.’ 

City have been linked with Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen, Lille’s Eden Hazard and Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote among others, but Mancini claims that clubs routinely ramp up the price when City inquire about their players.

He also admitted that another potential target, Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi, will be difficult to lure from the Italian capital.

‘De Rossi was born in Rome and it’s unlikely that he’ll leave the city,’ said the City boss.

‘There are players that could be good for us, but every time we want to buy a player their clubs ask for lots of money.’ 

City are top at Christmas for the first time in 82 years and will look to maintain their advantage when they visit West Bromwich Albion on Monday.

But Mancini has told his players that they must be mentally prepared to fall behind Manchester United during the course of the title race if they are to succeed in deposing their rivals as champions.

source: www.dailymail.co.uk