With the summer approaching, journalists and agents all over the place are starting to create a stir, and which club best to create a stir about? The one with the money to do something about it. It is impossible to take all the rumours seriously, but some are more persistent than others.
The most confused agent around at the moment is that of Catania's multi-positional Uruguayan Jorge Martinez. Whether by design or by mis-translation, this week Martinez's agent apparently suggested City were in advanced talks with Catania about a possible summer move, only to claim today that he has been wildly misquoted and had merely said that he had read about City's interest in the papers. Someone is guilty of fabrication here, and the journalists would have had to create quite a bit of detail from the original interview to come up with what they have.
Martinez is a tricky player and would play as a winger in the Premier League. He impressed in the win against Inter at the weekend, rounding Lucio and Julio Cesar to cap off an important 3-1 win. However, he is 26 and for a player coming to challenge for a position that is already strong at City he would need to show more potential than he perhaps does currently. After going to a Catania game in Sicily last year, I have kept an eye on Catania's performances and it remains debatable whether this exciting player would improve on the talent already at the club. Especially if a pay dispute means the return of one Robson de Souza. Mancini's close relationship with the Catania boss, Mihailovic - his right hand man at Inter and teammate of many years - would perhaps facilitate the deal, but it would probably represent a gamble.
The other persistent rumour that has returned today is that of a double-deal with Real Madrid. The Argentine pair Fernando Gago and Gonzalo Higuain are the players supposedly subject to a deal around the €40-50m mark. Mancini has openly stated he would consider another move for Gago in the summer and City came close to signing him on transfer deadline day. But Higuain is a presumably a new target. At only 22 and Real's top scorer this season, this is an exciting prospect. He has an exceptional scoring record this season but has come under criticism for his contract disputes, his performance in the Champions League exit to Lyon and for alleged differences with big-money superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. This could all pave the way for City doubling the Argentinian contingent at City, adding to Tevez and Zabaleta, and if the two new recruits have a similar work ethic to their countrymen then there is no doubt they'd settle to the pace of the Premier League with ease.
If these rumours are to be believed, it would probably signal too much competition for a number of strikers already at the club, and the positions of our returning loanees (Robinho, Jo, Bojinov, Caicedo) as well as RSC and Benjani (whose contract is up in the summer anyway) would probably be in question.
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