What does Mancini’s Krasic interest mean for SWP?
In the build-up to the Juventus game, today sees Roberto Mancini quoted as having looked to sign Milos Krasic when he was in charge of Inter and at City. The Serbian plays on the right wing and there was plenty of speculation linking him to City over the Summer, before he eventually moved to Juve from CSKA Moscow.
“He’s a player I have always followed, I tried to sign him when I was Inter coach and I tried again when I arrived at City.”
There’s no great surprise in Mancini’s interest as Krasic looks a decent winger, scoring a hat-trick at the weekend. It will be interesting to see how he performs on Thursday.
One person who might be perturbed by Mancini’s comments is Shaun Wright-Phillips. The England winger no longer looks a first choice pick for the team.
His performances over the last year have lacked consistency, often let down by a lack of end product and possession being to easily surrendered. Shaun’s workrate and willingness to do a job for the team continue to make him a useful squad player, but for a side looking to challenge at the top of the Premier League, this isn’t quite enough.
Adam Johnson is now considered our most dangerous winger on the right, and David Silva is beginning to show his quality, and also played on the right against Chelsea. At 28, there are question marks over whether Shaun can up his game, and Mancini seems unsure.
This was illustrated most clearly during talks over Shaun’s contract extension. With just under two years remaining, £60k per week seems generous for a squad player. City offered a one year extension with an immediate increase to £70k per week. Not to be sniffed at, unless Ian Wright is your dad and The Sun are looking for a headline.
Shaun’s representives apparently put their client in the £90-£100k per week bracket. They might have a chance if Shaun was a key member of our first choice side, but until this happens City’s current offer is likely to sit on the table. It’s not like he’s going to get a better offer elsewhere, particularly with Financial Fair Play set to put a squeeze on high wages.
It’s worth noting that the club would still like Shaun to sign up, so the fans favourite must be rated by Mancini. As ever with Shaun, the ability is there, he just needs to iron out the carelessness in his game. Whether he can do this and take a central role in future success is more debatable.
- Do you think Shaun will return to the form of his first spell at City?