Manchester City Football Club News

• Nickname:Sky Blues
• Founded:1887
• Manager:Roberto Mancini

• Ground:City of Manchester Stadium
• Capacity:48,000

Hughes predicts busy market

12 Jun 2009 - 08:07:59

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Manchester City boss Mark Hughes is a predicting a bumper summer of transfer activity following news of Cristiano Ronaldo's impending £80million move to Real Madrid.

Hughes, who himself is expecting to be busy investing some of the millions provided by the club's Abu Dhabi-based owners, believes city rivals Manchester United are likely to splash the clash following the sale of Ronaldo.

And the City chief also expects the money to trickle through football and lead to more transfer deals despite the current global economic slowdown.

He said: "There is a lot of money out there now, with some big clubs eager to spend it.

"It should make for an interesting market."

Regarding his own transfer plans, Hughes added: "We are still looking to address areas of the team and squad but we have to make sure that the quality we attract here is the right quality."

Meanwhile, Hughes believes he has secured a "bargain" after landing England midfielder Gareth Barry from Aston Villa in a £12million deel.

"We have got a bargain because Gareth is coming into the best years of his career," he said.

"He is now a senior player but I only became a stronger person when I moved somewhere else.

"His standing in the game will raise as a result of us paying a significant amount of money for him."