Career longevity not high on the list of priorities in the Eastlands revolution

To the surprise of few, Manchester City have once again been dominating the headlines in the transfer window, with last summer’s splurge seemingly set to be dwarfed by their current transfer dealings. Whilst the City faithful might be looking forward to seeing the likes of Jerome Boateng, David Silva and Yaya Toure at Eastlands, with Mario Balotelli and James Milner yet to come, they may like to spare a thought for those players whose careers in sky blue are over almost before they started.

Over the past two years, a series of high profile signings have ridden into Manchester on the crest of City’s spending wave, ready to play their part in a club revolution of the most extreme type. However, what they probably should have realised is that they were a means to an end. Once they had sufficiently elevated City’s league status to the point where the club could attract bigger names, they would then be deemed surplus to requirements.

A run through the City squad list makes for interesting reading these days, with only a handful not having either arrived this summer, or linked with a move away. How much truth there is behind the speculation remains to be seen of course, but by all accounts there could be a number of players heading for the exit door who have only recently signed for the club, just over a year ago in some instances. So who is likely to plying their trade elsewhere in the forthcoming season?

Starting at the back, Roberto Mancini has stated his desire to have two players to cover each position, but will Wayne Bridge really be content to play understudy to new £17 million arrival Aleksandar Kolarov at left back? Bought for £10 million in January of last year, the former Southampton and Chelsea man wouldn’t be short of suitors, but as will be the problem for a club trying to buy any of City’s off casts, they are unlikely to be able to match the extremely generous wages being offered at Eastlands.

In midfield, World Cup final villain Nigel De Jong is another name mentioned as a potential casualty. His price in January 2009? £16 million.  With Premier League clubs now restricted to a squad of 25 players for the season, Mancini has admitted that De Jong may be one of those that does not make the cut. The Dutchman is unlikely to hang around in the reserves to see if he can force his way back into the reckoning in January, so a move away from City seems a distinct possibility.

Up front, much depends on the arrival of Balotelli and, even more speculatively, Fernando Torres or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it seems highly likely that both Craig Bellamy (£14 million in January 2009) and Roque Santa Cruz (£17.5 million in June 2009) will be moved on as part of the shake up. Santa Cruz has admirers in the form of Stoke City, who are looking to pay half what City did to Blackburn Rovers for the forward whose career at Eastlands never got going courtesy of injury.

Stoke’s valuation of Santa Cruz is typical of what City can expect: for the players they are looking to sell, they will most likely make a significant loss on each. Whilst, this is almost inconsequential for a club whose owners have virtually limitless funds, questions have to be raised as to whether this instability will ultimately prove detrimental to their chances of smashing the top four cartel and lifting the Premier League trophy.

So whilst nobody is suggesting that we should start to feel sorry for a number of players who will undoubtedly find another club to pay their exorbitant wages, it can hardly be in either the player’s interest, nor the club’s, to have been seemingly bought on a whim, only to be spat back out when the transfer window opens again. Time will tell if the end justifies the means, but for now the cash piles seem to have eliminated the need for some more balanced long term planning in the blue half of Manchester.

July 28, 2010