Mancini confident of double swoop

07 August 2010 22:37
Roberto Mancini hopes to have Mario Balotelli and James Milner hitched to his Manchester City bandwagon by next Thursday.[LNB] Although Martin O'Neill hinted on Friday night that Milner was on the verge of completing a big-money switch to Eastlands, the contract remains unsigned.[LNB]Milner is due to link up with the England squad ahead of Wednesday's friendly with Hungary early next week, which further complicates matters.[LNB]Balotelli has Italian national commitments as well, although Mancini is hoping to tie up both deals very swiftly once those midweek fixtures are over.[LNB]"We are close with both players but now they are going with their national teams," said Mancini after tonight's 2-0 friendly win over Valencia.[LNB]"We hope that we can have these players by next Thursday.[LNB]"For now we have two days off and we are not going to talk about the market. Next week we will see.[LNB]"These deals could happen but we need to wait."[LNB]Should both go through it would take City's summer spending beyond £125million and confirm their status as the richest club in the world.[LNB]It is a fact not overlooked in Spain's Primera Division, with Valencia boss Unai Emery claiming they have even zoomed past Real Madrid in the wealth stakes.[LNB]"On a worldwide scale the only comparison has been Real Madrid, but City have even gone beyond that now," he said.[LNB]"They are creaming off some of the biggest players in the world. The investment has bought them a squad of great players and now they are definite contenders to win the title in England.[LNB]"It takes more than just investment of course but certainly in the Premier League I would regard them as being at the same level as both Chelsea and Manchester United."[LNB]It is Mancini's task to try and mould the huge number of stars into a winning team.[LNB]Craig Bellamy did not even get off the bench tonight, with Mancini confirming: "I cannot use 25 players in one game."[LNB]Bellamy will almost certainly resolve that situation by finding another club.[LNB]For Shay Given and Joe Hart the situation is not quite so simple.[LNB]Both men were given 45 minutes to impress as Gareth Barry and Jo scored the goals that cemented victory.[LNB]Only one will play in next Saturday's Premier League opener at Tottenham though, which must be very difficult for Hart given he is expected to start for England in midweek.[LNB]"It is not a big decision," insisted Mancini.[LNB]"I am fortunate that I have two strong goalkeepers. This is important when you have a long season with three matches every week.[LNB]"I have an idea who I will play but I still have a week to decide.[LNB]"I know whoever I pick, the other one will help that person. It is not a problem for us."[LNB]

Source: Team_Talk