AlthamBlue
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Sorry if posted, couldn't see it anywhere. From the Telegraph;
Aston Villa make enquiries about a loan deal for Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
Aston Villa have enquired about a loan deal for Manchester City forward Emmanuel Adebayor as the Eastlands club prepares to conclude the €35m signing of Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko next week.
Loan deal: Aston Villa have made enquiries about a loan deal for Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor Photo: REUTERS
By Mark Ogden 10:30PM GMT 31 Dec 2010
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Villa, who slumped to a sixth defeat in seven games with a 4-0 loss at City on Tuesday, have made a tentative enquiry about Adebayor, who has fallen out of favour in recent weeks having arrived in a £25m transfer from Arsenal in July 2009.
The Togolese striker’s £160,000-a-week wages at City would be a major stumbling block that would scupper any likelihood of a permanent transfer, but Villa manager Gerard Houllier is understood to be keen to explore the possibility of a six-month loan deal due to concerns over the form and fitness of his current pool of forwards at Villa Park.
City manager Roberto Mancini will only sanction the release of Adebayor, who has started just two Premier League games this season, should he manage to successfully conclude the purchase of Dzeko.
But with talks between senior officials of City and Wolfsburg progressing well this week, there is a hope within Eastlands that the Bosnia & Herzegovina forward will become a City player within the week.
Wolfsburg have already made moves to replace Dzeko by lining up an €11.5m move for Dynamo Moscow’s Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi and, should that deal move towards a conclusion this weekend, Dzeko’s transfer will accelerate accordingly.
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Although City can rely on the immense wealth of their owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, to fund the move for Dzeko, the club are determined to trim Mancini’s squad in January in order to move closer to complying with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
Out-of-favour players such as Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Roque Santa Cruz are all expected to be sold this month in order to raise funds and reduce the wage bill.
Lazio remain interested in Santa Cruz, despite his preference to leave Eastlands permanently rather than on loan, while West Ham are keen to sign Bridge.
England midfielder Wright-Phillips has attracted interest from Newcastle, West Ham and Wigan Athletic, but as yet, City have not received a firm offer for the former Chelsea player.
City can claim top spot in the Premier League if they defeat Blackpool at Eastlands and Manchester United fail to win at West Brom. But Mario Balotelli, who scored a hat-trick against Villa, is doubt for City after missing training on Friday.