City transfer talk returns already

It may feel like the transfer window has only just shut but that hasn’t stopped talk of Roberto Mancini making some final additions to his squad in January. Normally this would be unlikely as major deals are considered to difficult and costly during the mid-season window.

However, this January represents the last chance for Sheikh Mansour to splash his cash on new signings. From next summer onwards club finances will come under the scrutiny of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules.

Once this happens, City are unlikely to be able to bid for the likes of Torres for a couple of years until the club’s hoped for revenues from Champions League and stadium enhancements can kick in.

Following Martin Samuel’s epic interview with Roberto Mancini, the Mail journalist was left with the opinion.

Martin Samuel:

“Talking to him [Mancini] last week, he made it clear that he regarded his first-team group as still being two or three players short. He would make those changes in the January transfer window, if he could.”

Today the M.E.N. follows the same line, and speculates how “Edin Dzeko, Karim Benzema and Alexandre Pato are on the list of possibles“. Last week saw renewed links with Torres as Liverpool continue to struggle to match the Spaniard’s aspirations.

The M.E.N. also have Javier Pastore and Wesley Sneijder as potential competition for David Silva, while a new goalkeeper would be an obvious requirement if Shay Given departs.

Unless Adebayor can recover his form of a couple of years ago and start banging in the goals on a regular basis, there are likely to be doubts about his future under Mancini. A farewell to the Togolese could be on the cards if a deal for Dzeko or Torres were to be thrashed out.

City’s ‘Player Acquisition Team’ would have their work cut out to agree a deal with either Wolfsburg or Liverpool in the January window, but if the selling clubs were agreeable, then Mancini could secure his preferred support for Tevez.

Sneijder would be highly unlikely to go anywhere during January, and certainly not to a Europa League club. Pastore might be a more interesting target as he conforms to the profile of a star in the making with a long term future (like Balotelli and Boateng).

Whether we need an additional creative midfielder is debatable as Silva, like Ireland before him struggles to secure a place in his preferred central position. It’s also James Milner’s strongest position.

The only other positions where we’re a little light are that of a pacy winger, if Wright-Phillips doesn’t rediscover his form, and an attacking right-back if Boateng eventually moves into the centre of defence.

The current squad is already looking capable of securing a Champions League place. Any more quality additions could have us looking at a genuine title challenge. With Financial Fair Play on the horizon, it will be fascinating to see what City’s transfer spending plans are in the coming windows.

• Do you Mancini will be splashing out again in January?