Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester City's £100million may not stretch to striker Santa Cruz
Mark Hughes admitted he has not given up hope of signing Roque Santa Cruz - but the plan will be scuppered if Shay Given moves to Eastlands this week.[LNB]Manchester City[LNB]'s Abu Dhabi owners are determined not to exceed their £100million January transfer and fees budget and that means Hughes is likely to get the green light for just one of his two remaining targets.[LNB]That's a bitter blow for Hughes and City fans who must be praying for more new arrivals than unsettled Newcastle[LNB]goalkeeper Given in the wake of yesterday's wretched 1-0 loss at 10-man Stoke, where James Beattie got the winner.[LNB] City bound? Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz[LNB] HATCHET MAN: Hughes sorry now? City boss is paying the price for giving Robinho the superstar treatment[LNB]Hughes confident that 'driven' Bellamy will have the answers[LNB]I'm not Dunne at City: Defender wants to be part of Hughes' revolution[LNB]No regrets: OK, we failed to sign Kaka but give City credit, says Hughes[LNB]BLACKBURN NEWS ACROSS THE WEB[LNB]MAN CITY NEWS ACROSS THE WEB[LNB] 'The bids are still on the table,' said Hughes. 'I've not heard more.' City's billionaire owners, who would have ripped up their budget plans for a special case such as Kaka, have already forked out more than £90m in transfer fees and wages so far this month on Wayne Bridge, Nigel De Jong and Craig Bellamy. Each has signed four-and- a-half-year deals worth about £18m.[LNB]And they are not willing to go way above their original spending forecast unless they get late offers for a group of their available players, including Elano and Benjani.[LNB]Republic of Ireland's Given has already held talks with Hughes and although Newcastle are waiting for £8m, they will allow negotiation. But Blackburn[LNB]have turned down four bids of up to £17m for Santa Cruz and City do not intend to make a further offer in excess of £20m. [LNB]Rovers boss Sam Allardyce, who fears he would not replace Santa Cruz before the transfer window ends tomorrow, is keen to hold on to the Paraguay striker. Also, Hughes had been interested in Kolo Toure but Arsenal's £16m valuation of the defender scared off City's hierarchy. [LNB]A source said: 'City always had a budget in mind for January. It's not a case of paying whatever the selling club want.' [LNB] [LNB]
