Robinho – staying or going?

Speculation continues to grow that Robinho could be on his way out of Manchester City less than a year after his £32.5m move to The City of Manchester Stadium.

The jubilant scenes which greeted the Brazilian’s arrival to the blue half of Manchester back in September now seem a long time ago. Despite an explosive start to his Manchester City career in which he fully demonstrated his mercurial ability, things have turned somewhat sour following an unscheduled trip back to Brazil from a January training camp, accusatiosn of drug taking from Pele and a marked dip in form.

Mark Hughes has insisted recent stories over the player’s discontent are just disruptive speculation. “There is no reason for anybody to think Robinho is not playing well for any other reason than the opposition stopping him,” the City Manager has insisted. Robinho has also requested a formal apology from Pele over his recent comments, but the forward, who has yet to score in 2009, continues to be linked with a move away from Manchester in the summer.

One make or break factor could be the return of Martin Petrov to fitness and to the City side. The long term absentee may well help to relieve some of the attacking pressure from Robinho, but he could also be seen as competition for the Brazilian’s favoured position on the left hand side. Hughes has indicated that the two could play in tandem, but whether this will help the out of form striker return to his best remains to be seen.

There is no doubting Robinho’s talent and City fans have witnessed him at his best. However question marks remain over his temperament (he reportedly broke down in tears in attempt to force a move away from Real Madrid during the summer) and it would hardly be a surprise to see the Eastlands club cash in early on one of their most valuable assets in the summer. Had Luiz Felipe Scolari still been in charge at Stamford Bridge then a move to Chelsea, which Robinho mistakenly expressed his delight at joining in his first press conference, may well have been a real possibility. However, with the more pragmatic Guus Hiddink now in charge it appears unlikely that they will make a move for such a volatile player.