According to a leading daily in the UK, as many as 14 players could be shown the door at the City of Manchester Stadium as Italian boss Roberto Mancini looks to rebuild the squad in his first full season as manager. Players almost certain to leave City are Valeri Bojinov, Jo, Felipe Caicedo, Kelvin Etuhu, Benjani – all of whom spent most part of last season on loan at various clubs.
Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov who missed the last three months of the season with injury will also leave Eastlands. The biggest name that could depart from Eastlands is Robinho. Mancini is willing to listen to offers for the Brazilian who signed for a whopping £32.5m but failed to cut it in the Barclays Premier League. There are lingering question marks over the future of Craig Bellamy, Sylviniho, Patrick Vieira, Stephen Ireland, Micah Richards, Shaun Wright Phillips and Nedum Onouha. All these players have been on the fringes of Mancini’s squad and may leave if the right offer comes City’s way.
With City letting go of so many talented players, an active recruitment drive is also expected to take place. City will kick of their summer spending with the capture of Hamburg right back Jerome Boateng. Also on Mancini’s radar are Benfica defender David Luiz and Napoli playmaker Marek Hamsik.
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