Well, if you take this report as being correct....Negredo gone BUT.....don't worry everything is fine...Sinclair is set to be submitted into CL squad! What a joke!!!
Analysis: Why did City let Alvaro Negredo go?
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Why have Pellegrini, and executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, sanctioned the sale of Alvaro Negredo even when it became clear there would be no incoming replacement?
Two players for every position. That was Manuel Pellegrini’s mantra when he took over at City - and the club’s transfer policy has reflected his thinking.
But in this transfer window the Blues appear to have abandoned that policy, and will embark on the first half of the season, at least, with three strikers rather than four.
So why have Pellegrini, and executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, sanctioned the sale of Alvaro Negredo even when it became clear there would be no incoming replacement?
The wisdom of that decision will only become apparent over the course of the season – and depends to some extent on Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic avoiding the injury troubles that affected them last season.
Both players, and the City medical staff, are confident a new training regime aimed at strengthening hamstrings and core muscles will combat the difficulties that saw Aguero miss important parts of last season, and made Jovetic’s debut campaign a non-event.
If they do not, Edin Dzeko could end up as the only recognised striker, and many City fans were puzzled and angered by the decision.
Negredo was a hero to supporters in the first half of last season, scoring 23 goals in his first 33 games and forming a lethal partnership with Aguero.
He also had a work rate and aggression up front that the Blues have missed since Carlos Tevez left.
‘The Beast’ put the animal into a cultured City side, without detracting from its technical quality.
But after suffering a shoulder injury, the season subsided for Negredo.
In the second half of the campaign his form suffered and he was fourth choice striker by the end of it.
Talk of his homesickness is over-blown, but he clearly missed his homeland and was open to a move if the right deal came along.
That alerted several top clubs, with Real Madrid, Valencia and Atletico Madrid all interested.
City’s initial reaction was that he was not for sale. But when it became plain Negredo wanted to go, and that the club could make a profit after buying him for an initial £16.4m, it became a reality.
The Blues wanted a replacement, but when Radamel Falcao’s wage demands made him a no-no in an era when they are cutting wage bills and spending, the club hierarchy decided it was an offer too good to refuse.
City are not the club of six years ago, needing to spend lavishly to compete for trophies and join the European elite.
Forget Uefa’s financial fair play rules, the intention always was that the Blues would eventually live within their means following Sheikh Mansour’s initial, fabulous investment.
Selling Negredo for almost twice the amount they paid for him is cold, hard business – his loan deal includes a commitment to buy from Valencia, themselves newly rich from the investment of new owner Peter Lim.
Of course, there were also football considerations, not least Pellegrini’s desire to have two players in every position.
Scott Sinclair is set to be included in the squads submitted for the Champions League and Premier League. There is also the prospect of Nigerian youngster Kelechi Iheanacho , who made such an impact in the pre-season tour of the United States, adding to the mix.
City will try to get him a work permit once he turns 18 next month, although he perhaps needs work with Patrick Vieira’s elite development squad before he comes into the first-team reckoning.
So how will Pellegrini make up for the loss of Negredo?
Arguably, City play with a sole striker in any case, as one usually drops deep. Some of City’s best performances last season came with one advanced striker, and another in the hole behind.
Aguero, Dzeko and Jovetic can all perform that role but, more pertinently in Pellegrini’s thinking, so can David Silva, Samir Nasri and Yaya Toure.
The purchase this summer of Fernando, an out-and-out defensive midfielder, means it is even more secure and balanced to play that system.
Pellegrini is keeping his cards close to his chest, but it would be no surprise to see the Blues line up at Bayern Munich in the Champions League with a five-man midfield.
With the players City have, that is not an abandonment of their attacking philosophy, but simply a prudent tweaking of it, born out of the lessons they have been handed in Europe in the last three seasons.
