SOCCER PREMIERSHIP NEWS:ROBERTO MANCINI has told Stephen Ireland to prove he belongs at Manchester City next season but has yet to decide whether the Cork midfielder or Craig Bellamy will feature on his final 25-man squad list.
Ireland’s future at City is in serious doubt after he was informed the club would not stand in the way of an offer for his services. The 23-year-old was City’s Player of the Year in 2009 but suffered a dramatic dip in form last season and has vowed to fight for his place at Eastlands despite the threat of limited opportunities.
Mancini has denied having a personal issue with the central midfielder, or telling Ireland he will not be on the squad list that must be submitted to the Premier League at the end of August.
However, he admits Ireland has still to convince he can hold a place in a team swelled by the arrivals of fellow midfielders Yaya Toure, David Silva and possibly James Milner this summer.
The City manager said: “I have to cut my squad down to 25 and at this moment I have more than 30 so someone will have to miss out but right now I don’t know who it will be.
“I have not decided anything about Stephen Ireland. There has been no problem with him on the tour. He could still have a future here. I don’t know how it’s possible for him to think otherwise because I haven’t decided. It is up to him to prove himself to me.”
Ireland captained City in their second pre-season defeat, a 2-1 loss to New York Red Bulls on Sunday, but was withdrawn at half-time. “I made Stephen captain of the team so that shows I still have belief in him,” said Mancini.
“The only reason I took him off at half-time was because he played 90 minutes the other night against Sporting. I am concerned about players doing too much and getting injuries.”
Mancini was equivocal on Ireland’s future should a club move for the midfielder this summer. “We would have to see,” he said, and admitted Bellamy is another high-profile player with an uncertain future at the club.
“It is clear that some of the players we have here are going to be left off the list. I am not sure yet if one of those will be Bellamy. At this moment it is impossible to know which players will be on that final list.”
City officials and the agent of Mario Balotelli, the Internazionale striker, have denied reports in the Italian media that the 19-year-old is on the brink of a move to Eastlands that would take the club’s spending to just under €120 million for the summer.
La Gazzetta dello Sporthas claimed the troubled forward has signed a four-year deal with City worth €4 million per season, and held a leaving party with friends in Milan on Saturday.
No fee has been agreed between City and the reigning European champions, however, and the proposed transfer has also hit a problem over the teenager’s exorbitant wage demands.
Balotelli is believed to be seeking more than €95,000-a-week to join City who, despite their vast resources, are reluctant to commit to those figures on a talented but inexperienced player.
Balotelli’s agent, Mino Raiola, said: “Nothing has been signed between Balotelli and Manchester City.”
Mancini has confirmed an interest in Fernando Torres should the striker decide to leave Liverpool, but Balotelli and the Wolfsburg forward Edin Dzeko are more likely arrivals, with City’s failure to land a Champions League place believed to be fatal to their efforts to land the Spaniard.
GuardianService
