ROBERTO MANCINI has confirmed Manchester City are willing to underwrite a British record transfer fee for Fernando Torres should the Spaniard decide to leave Liverpool.
Torres’s future at Anfield remains shrouded in uncertainty with Christian Purslow, the club’s managing director, holding extensive talks with the 26-year-old striker and the manager, Roy Hodgson, conceding he can do no more to convince the striker to stay.
Chelsea and Barcelona have been linked with the former Atletico Madrid captain but may struggle to meet Liverpool’s €84 million valuation.
City’s hopes of signing Torres were believed to have ended when they failed to qualify for the Champions League last season but Mancini, who is also interested in Mario Balotelli of Internazionale and Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko, insists the prospect of Torres making a sensational switch from Anfield to Eastlands is not over and is willing to better the €39 million record fee City spent to sign Robinho from Real Madrid.
The City manager, who has taken his summer spending to €93 million with the €22.5 million arrival of Aleksandar Kolarov from Lazio, said: “Torres is one of the best strikers in Europe and is already playing in the Premier League for three years. But it depends on his situation – his price and whether he wants to come.
“There are two or three strikers that we could go for, but it is the same situation as it is with James Milner. First there is the price and then it depends if the players want to change team.”
City officials have indicated the club has more chance of signing Balotelli and Dzeko than Torres, with the lack of Champions League football on offer still a determining factor despite their ability to fund a deal and to offer players €239,000-a-week.
The Spanish striker has stressed money will not be the over-riding motivation as he considers his future at Liverpool but, nevertheless, confirmation of City’s interest will further unsettle Anfield officials as they attempt to persuade their prized asset to stay.
Torres is settled in Liverpool but disillusioned with the club’s failure to secure new investment having been told a takeover was imminent when he signed a new four-year contract worth €131,000-a-week last August. His insistence that Liverpool require “four or five” top-class signings to compete for honours next season is unlikely to materialise and Purslow has spent several days attempting to pacify the striker.
Hodgson confirmed at the weekend: “I made it clear from my point of view I’m really looking forward to working with him and I believe he’s a key, key figure at the club . . . I can only hope he’ll buy into what the club is offering him. I don’t think there are any worries with him in terms of me personally or what we’re doing. I think the concerns go back once again to the time before I came to the club.”
City are expected to make a final €29 million bid for Milner this week, having been involved in a prolonged pursuit of the Aston Villa midfielder this summer. “He is still a player who interests us but only at the right price,” said Mancini, who also confirmed the Brazil international Robinho does not want to return to Eastlands and that several high-profile players will have to leave City before the close of this transfer window.
“I don’t know about Robinho’s situation because he doesn’t want to come back. I have now, with all the new signings, 30 players. It is important we get to the start of the season with only 25 players because that is the number of names we can put on the list.”
Mancini has revealed goalkeeper Shay Given is unlikely to be fit for the start of the season, having dislocated his shoulder against Arsenal at the end of last season.
GuardianService
