Manchester City plan an astonishing triple-raid on Anfield should they reach the Champions League at Liverpool‘s expense come the end of the season.
City boss Roberto Mancini has only been in the job five minutes, but his comments, as reported in The Sun, will certainly ruffle a few feathers on Merseyside.
Mancini said: “If they put Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres on the market, City will be interested.
“We at City will do everything possible to prevent Liverpool from finishing fourth.”
Such an audacious bid could cost City upwards of £100m, and the Italian also revealed he would like to bring former Internazionale charges Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Maicon to Eastlands. However, that will not stop Mancini spending in January in order to bolster his squad.
He added: “In defence I have so many out injured that there will be some coming and the same in midfield. In attack we don’t have problems.”
The Daily Mirror claims that Tottenham Hotspur bench-warmer Roman Pavlyuchenko is set for a return to Russia, with Lokomotiv Moscow, Zenit St Petersburg and former club Spartak Moscow all interested after the player launched another verbal attack at manager Harry Redknapp.
Also in the Mirror is the news that Arsenal are lining up a move for Algerian midfielder Hassan Yebda, currently on loan at Portsmouth from Benfica.
The Guardian reveals that Scott Parker may swap the Claret and Blue of West Ham for that of Aston Villa. Martin O’Neill would be up against Liverpool and Spurs in a race for the Hammers captain.
While other papers are content to list the candidates likely to be vying for the Bolton manager’s job following the sacking of Gary Megson, the Daily Express is firmly touting Peter Reid as the man to take over at the Reebok Stadium.
Reid made over 200 appearances for the Trotters in the 1970s and ’80s, so his popularity with fans would be the perfect antidote to Megson, who the Wanderers faithful disliked from the day he took the job.
Elsewhere, Hull City boss Phil Brown’s renewed attempt to bring Benjani to the KC Stadium relies on Manchester City continuing to pay half his £50k-a-week wages, while Birmingham boss Alex McLeish likes the cut of Wigan midfielder Charles N’Zogbia‘s jib to the tune of £6m.
Eurosport
