• Stephen Ireland wants £2m to be part of £26m player swap
• Two unnamed clubs show interest in signing Robinho for £20m
Manchester City’s move for James Milner has been thrown into question by Stephen Ireland’s demands for a £2m payoff to be used as the makeweight in a £26m player-plus-cash exchange.
Ireland is refusing to take part in the move unless City give him the money he wants and, with the club steadfastly refusing to give in to what they consider to be exorbitant demands, there are growing concerns within Eastlands and Villa Park that the dispute could lead to the whole deal unravelling.
City had hoped to finalise the move today after agreeing a deal with Villa which valued Milner at £18m and Ireland at £8m. Both players have agreed the terms of new contracts and Milner has been waiting for Ireland to resolve his issues before an official statement was put out to confirm he had become City’s fifth major signing of the summer, taking their pre-season spending to £103m.
Instead, Ireland has said he will not sign the deal off until he has been given a “golden handshake” to compensate him for being sold against his will when he has four years of a £65,000-a-week contract still remaining. City have bluntly refused to go that high and have become increasingly frustrated with the player’s refusal to accept that his form last season does not merit such a payoff.
Ireland, described as “disillusioned” about the way he no longer forms part of Roberto Mancini’s plans, is bargaining from a position of strength in one sense, namely that he is aware this is the only issue holding up the transfer.
City desperately want to resolve the matter so that Milner can be involved in their opening league game of the season, at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but the chance of that happening appears to be dramatically receding, with one of the people involved in the talks saying that “unless he [Ireland] drops these ridiculous demands the whole deal, in theory, could come tumbling down”.
Garry Cook, the Manchester City chief executive, and the club’s football administrator, Brian Marwood, will resume talks with Ireland and his agent, Paul Masterton, tomorrow but, with no agreement close, there are indications from the Midlands club that Milner may yet be included in the Villa squad to play West Ham United on Saturday.
Kevin MacDonald, who is filling the void as caretaker manager following Martin O’Neill’s departure from Villa Park, would have to decide whether the England international is in a suitable state of mind to play.
The difficulties concluding the Milner deal come at the same time as City have moved closer to signing Mario Balotelli, the 20-year-old Italy international. After several months of wrangling over a fee, City wanting to pay £25m and Internazionale valuing him at £30m, the two clubs are thought to have reached a compromise.
At the same time, City have entered into negotiations with two unnamed clubs about a potential £20m move for Robinho, with Mancini still keen to wash his hands of Britain’s most expensive footballer and no sign of a thaw in relations between player and manager.
After spending the last six months on loan at Santos, Robinho arrived back in Manchester today, but there is a desire on both sides for him to find new employers and City have received what is being described behind the scenes at Eastlands as “firm interest,” with a good possibility of a deal happening before the end of the transfer window. Besiktas, Barcelona and Schalke are among the clubs who have been linked with Robinho, but the identity of the clubs has not been released.
The exodus of fringe players from Eastlands has continued with Felipe Caicedo, the 21-year-old Ecuadorian, heading to West Ham on a season-long loan.
City are also willing to allow Craig Bellamy to leave on loan if a permanent deal cannot be agreed and they are anticipating a number of inquiries over the coming days now it has been confirmed they want to sell the Wales captain.
Celtic have already made contact and other clubs are expected to follow, with Bellamy’s threat, made earlier this week, that he may quit football because he is “disheartened” and “dejected” by his current status at City not being taken seriously within the sport.
Manchester CityAston VillaTransfer windowDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk
