Man City Weekly Update – Gareth Barry, Tugay, Elano, Joe Hart

I return from my self-imposed blogging exile with news of an exciting new signing for the Blues, a possible new arrival on the management side, and two stories of imminent departures, one permanent and the other temporary. During the close season, I will be providing this weekly update with the most recent news from City, hopefully with some transfer activity and other general stories of interest. It would be of great help if you could give me some feedback at the end, and comment if you think anything could be improved as this is only a tester article.

This week kicks off with news of the first addition to the City squad during the transfer window, England international midfielder, Gareth Barry. This move took everyone by surprise, with the media only finding out about the transfer on Tuesday morning, before the deal was finalised after Barry completed a medical and agreed personal terms. The fee quoted for this deal is £12 million, which, considering the player was on the verge of joining Liverpool last summer for £18 million, and in today’s market, is a decent price for a player who has European experience, is a regular international and is one of the top midfielders in the country.

Barry already feels at home in a City shirt

City manager Mark Hughes promised that he would act quickly in the transfer window to tie up deals for his targets, but no-one expected the Blues to complete a deal this quickly. It represents a major coup for the Citizens, with rivals Aston Villa losing one of, in not the, best players at the club, whilst for the Blues, their squad has been considerably boosted with the addition of Barry. The 28 year old possess a virtue that Hughes admires greatly in a player: versatility, and it remains to be seen where the manager opts to deploy his new signing.

The likelihood is that Barry will slot in the centre of midfield to partner another fairly recent acquisition, Nigel de Jong. As a result of this, Vincent Kompany would drop into the back four, taking the place of captain Richard Dunne, whose relatively poor season could cost him dearly. But with Hughes expected to make more signings, this could all change, with another possibility being a 4-4-2 formation.

Barry is an accomplished England international, and should fit in well at Eastlands

On the arrival front, there have been strong rumours in the past couple of days that former Blackburn legend and Turkish (delight) international, Tugay Kerimoğlu will join the coaching staff. Obviously he is someone who is well-known to Mark Hughes, but it does seem to me a gamble to employ someone with no prior coaching experience. It must be noted that many of these rumours have originated from Tugay himself and he was quoted as saying, ‘I made an agreement with Manchester City and will work as a coach. To work there will be a huge step for me. When I feel strong enough, then I will begin to work as a technical director.”

Turning my thoughts now to possible departures from the club, Brazilian playmaker Elano Blumer has revealed that he has been in contact with Italian side Inter Milan, currently managed by the self-proclaimed ‘The Special One’, José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho. Despite occasional flashes of brilliance from the midfielder, he has failed to perform in too many matches for my liking, and in addition, it is often said that Elano is a trouble-maker in the squad, so although I would be sad to see him go, it may be for the benefit of the team in general. Nothing official has been confirmed, but Elano was quoted earlier this week as saying, “There is an opened negotiation, I like Inter a lot. Sure, I’m bounded with a contract with Manchester City, but I hope Nerazzurri officials won’t stop facing to this – I would like to wear the Inter jersey. Mourinho’s great. His sides have always left a sign. And all the players who have played with him consider him a phenomenon. Inter have a big coach but also many great champions. I hope my friend Julio Cesar could spend a word in my favour.”

 

Finally this week, there is the news that promising young goalkeeper Joe Hart may be sent out on loan for a whole season, with both newly promoted Wolves and Birmingham strongly linked with his capture. This move would be very similar to those of Ben Foster and Scott Carson, sent by Man United and Liverpool respectively, to gain experience with another team. Personally, I think that any loan move would be beneficial to Hart as the former Shrewsbury keeper’s career has slightly stalled since the January arrival of Shay Given.

As previously stated, please give any feedback in your comments. It would be greatly appreciated.