TCIB said:Appologies if already posted, saw a pm of a lad asking for this article but i was at work so better late than never :)
James Ducker, Rory Smith
Manchester City are preparing an early signal of their intent in the transfer market this summer with the club closing in on a deal for Fernandinho, the Brazil midfielder, from Shakhtar Donetsk.
City are determined to revamp their midfield as they bid to reclaim the Barclays Premier League title from Manchester United and mount a serious challenge in the Champions League and have identified Fernandinho as a leading target.
Although an agreement has yet to be reached with Shakhtar for the player, who will turn 28 on Saturday, and Mircea Lucescu, the Ukrainian club’s coach, claimed yesterday that only a bid that matched the €50 million (about £42 million) release clause in his contract would be accepted, City are confident that they will be able to sign the player for about £25 million.
“If City pay it, he will go,” Lucescu said. “If they do not, it is almost impossible, because we have no interest in becoming weaker and helping others become stronger.”
Rinat Akhmetov, Shakhtar’s billionaire owner, is a famously obdurate negotiator and the club have an unofficial policy of selling only to sides they consider to be part of Europe’s elite, a group that Lucescu hinted he does not feel City belong to.
“If there are stronger teams interested in him, I will do everything possible to help them, but at this moment I do not think Manchester City are at the same level as Shakhtar,” Lucescu said.
A key figure in Shakhtar’s march to six Ukrainian Premier League titles in the past eight years and their Uefa Cup triumph over Werder Bremen in 2008-09, Fernandinho is a defensive midfielder but his pace, passing and powerful shot also make him an asset going forward.
Admired at Shakhtar for his leadership as much as his ability, City have been tracking the 2008 Ukraine Player of the Year for more than six months and are thought to have explored the possibility of signing the player in January.
Fernandinho scored the decisive goal in Shakhtar’s 2-1 win at home to Chelsea in their Champions League group E match last October. Shakhtar qualified for the knockout stage at Chelsea’s expense, only to lose 5-2 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund.
Aside from missing seven months of the 2010-11 campaign with a broken leg, Fernandinho has been virtually ever-present for Shakhtar since joining from Atlético Paranaense, of Brazil, for about £7 million in 2005. Scorer of the only goal for Brazil in their 2003 World Youth Championship final win against Spain in the UAE, he has won five full caps.
With uncertainty over his future as manager, it is unclear what involvement Roberto Mancini has had in the identification of Fernandinho, with recruitment being spearheaded by Txiki Begiristain, the director of football.
But having made no secret of his frustration at City’s tactics in the transfer market last summer, when the club insisted on offloading players before recruiting new ones, Mancini will be pleased about the prospect of the club looking to move quickly to secure their targets this time around.
Given that Jack Rodwell has been plagued by injuries and Javier García has struggled since arriving from Everton and Benfica respectively last summer, and with the futures of Samir Nasri and Gareth Barry in doubt, City want to provide quality support for Yaya Touré and David Silva in midfield. Begiristain is also thought to be keen on another midfielder as well as Fernandinho.
With Kolo Touré and, most likely, Joleon Lescott leaving this summer, City want two new centre backs and a forward, with Edinson Cavani, of Napoli, a target. As reported by The Times, up to 12 players could leave and about six new players may arrive as part of a dramatic shake-up.
Sergio Agüero may cause a stir at the FA Cup Final a week on Saturday. The Argentina striker is planning to wear pink polka-dot boots against Wigan Athletic at Wembley.
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This is good news I think... you might say "WTF? We have 100 midfielders already" but it's quality we need there, this is the position we were most exposed in during both Champions League campaigns. It'd surely mean the end for Barry or Garcia, preferably the latter, but I'd love to know who we can sell him to without losing too much on the transfer.
Edit: We should play 3 in midfield in Europe too.