Source: SKY_Sports
Hughes expects Robinho boost
Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is confident star signing Robinho will come back even better next season.[LNB] The Brazilian forward made an immediate impact in the Premier League after City splashed out a British record transfer fee to sign him from Real Madrid last August.[LNB]The 25-year-old scored 12 goals in his first 19 games for the Blues and looked every inch the £32.5million player they had signed to spearhead the new-look City side.[LNB]A marked drop in form followed, though, with many believing Premier League defenders had found how to counteract the mercurial forward.[LNB]Having also walked out of the club's mid-winter training camp in Tenerife in January, some questioned whether City would offload their prize asset in the summer.[LNB]DroughtBut Robinho scored his first goal of 2009 in last week's 4-2 win over West Brom, halting a 17-match goal drought, and this week he claimed he wants to stay at City "for a long time to come".[LNB]Hughes believes it is only natural that Robinho's form faded after a strong start and having ended his goal famine, expects him to finish the season with a flourish.[LNB]"He's happy here and you can see that on a daily basis," he told Sky Sports News.[LNB]"He's back scoring as well so that's obviously making him happy and he's had a good season.[LNB]"I think when you're coming into a new league, you can make a huge impact initially and then there's a levelling out on the impact you can make.[LNB]"But we're hoping that he's going to finish strongly now."[LNB]BenefitHughes pointed out that the Premier League is a different proposition to Spain's La Liga but reckons Robinho will be an even bigger asset next term with a year in England under his belt.[LNB]"He'll benefit from the season that he's had," Hughes added.[LNB]"He's enjoyed the experience of the Premier League.[LNB]"It's a different league and a stronger league than what he's been used to and the intensity on a weekly basis is higher.[LNB]"He has that knowledge now and next season we hope he'll go on to bigger and better things."[LNB]
