Toure next on hit-list as Man City look to raid Arsenal again for £15m man

27 July 2009 01:07
Manchester City, unruffled by the latest outspoken attack on them by Sir Alex Ferguson. were in talks with Arsenal over a £15million deal for defender Kolo Toure. News of the deal is unlikely to impress Manchester United boss Ferguson, however, after he continued his stinging criticism of neighbours City by dismissing them as a ‘small club with a small mentality’. Having signed Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal for £25m last week, City are hopeful negotiations will go just as smoothly for Toure. The Ivory Coast defender, 28, has spent seven years at Arsenal and is the club’s longest-serving player but he was involved in a fall-out with teammate William Gallas last season and demanded a transfer in January. City’s need to strengthen their defence was underlined in Pretoria on Saturday when new midfielder Gareth Barry finished the Vodacom Challenge final defeat by Kaizer Chiefs at centre-back after Richard Dunne, Nedum Onuoha and Javan Vidal were all injured. Hughes still hopes to sign Everton’s Joleon Lescott. Ferguson has certainly not been shy in making himself heard, however, as City's spending spree shows no sign of easing. After first dismissing City’s chances of finishing in the top-four this season and claiming Carlos Tevez was not worth the 25m they paid for his former striker, the United boss launched another withering attack yesterday. City returned from their pre-season tour of South Africa to criticism from Ferguson over a huge billboard in Manchester city centre celebrating the signing of Tevez and proclaiming ‘Welcome to Manchester’. He branded the move ‘stupid and arrogant’, adding: 'It's City isn't it? They are a small club, with a small mentality. ‘All they can talk about is Manchester United, that's all they've done and they can't get away from it. 'It is a go at us, that's the one thing it is. They think taking Tevez away from Manchester United is a triumph. It is poor stuff. I thought he would go to City a long time ago. Spiky mood: Sir Alex's jibe at rivals City will not go down well with the blue half of Manchester Spiky mood: Sir Alex's jibe at rivals City will not go down well with the blue half of Manchester 'I don't look upon City as my biggest challengers. For all the buying they have done, they still have to pick a team with balance. 'That won't be easy for Mark Hughes. What's he got, 10 strikers? So, if he picks a squad to go to Chelsea, he has to leave seven behind, or five at least. He has to deal with that. It will not be easy.' Ferguson’s also confirmed Sportsmail’s report that Adebayor’s agents offered him to both United and Chelsea last week even though he had agreed a move to City. Hughes seemed a little surprised to be fielding questions about comments from his former manager for the second time in a week, but once again refused to become embroiled in a public row. He said: ‘Sir Alex Ferguson is a man I hold the utmost repsect for and he is fully entitled to his opinion. But I am very happy with the transfer business we have conducted this summer and the players we have recruited are as excited as I am about the new season ahead. ‘The poster campaign in Manchester is a bit of fun between fans. It is in a similar vein to the banner at Old Trafford which counts the time span since City’s last trophy win. ‘We are glad it has got so many people talking.’ Hughes’ side lost for the second time in three games in South Africa when they were beaten 1-0 by the Chiefs at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. City fielded a strong line-up but went down to a goal by former Chelsea trainee Jeffrey Ntuka just before half-time, with Adebayor missing two good chances on his debut.

Source: Daily_Mail