With all the players that have come in to the City of Manchester stadium the time may come this summer when the board look to recoup some of their money.
Having spent in the region of £100m on transfers since the much publicised take over many fans will be looking on in interest to see which big name the club are going to be linked to this summer.
However it may be just as interesting to see who will leave. Obviously the chances of Ireland and Given leaving are almost zero (and those of Robinho as well, if … well … Robinho is to be believed) but some of their team mates may be getting a little worried as July 1st approaches.
Despite the huge amount of money that the club has spent recently they are finding it hard to score goals. Although City have the third best home record in the league they do have the third worst away record having won only once this season on their travels.
They have scored only 15 goals in 16 games away from Manchester and Hughes may be looking to off load some of his misfiring strike force. With Ecuadorian striker Caicedo only scoring twice in 21 league appearances this season it is likely that his days may be numbered at the Eastlands club especially with Brazilian striker Jo returning from his loan at Everton come the end of the season.
Craig Bellamy’s record for City is slightly better having bagged three goals in the five appearances he has made since his transfer in January although he is now out for the rest of the season through injury. The Wales captain may well be given more time in the start of the new season to really stake his claim to staying at one of the world’s richest clubs.
It is also likely that injury plagued Darius Vassell may soon be packing his bags with both Bolton and Derby rumoured to be interested in the England striker.
The midfield is probably where City has looked most impressive this campaign, Steven Ireland’s fantastic form has seen him pick up PFA Young Player of the Year nomination and he rightly deserves it. However the young Irishman has had a fair bit of support this year, with some fantastic performances from Robinho and Shaun Wright Phillips the trio have totalled 22 of City’s 51 goals. Possible departures include the hot and cold Elano who had a poor start to the season, although his recent form has improved including a fantastic performance in the recent UEFA Cup exit.
Having spent big to bring in Shay Given it is unlikely that anything will change with regards to the shot stoppers especially with talent like Joe Hart and Kasper Schmeichel waiting on the touchline. However their defensive protection may very well change, admittedly Micah Richards is unlikely to be sold but Danny Mills who has been out on loan for the past three seasons is surplus to requirements as is Michael Ball. Although City are unlikely to get much for the pair.
If Hughes is still in charge come the start of next season he will be hoping that he has got in some new talent. Although City have looked very impressive on the odd occasion most of their performances do not justify the huge sums of money spent, they currently sit in 10th and they finished the season in 9th last year before spending over £50m.
To build the team around their spine of quality players they will have to sell off those that are not needed or simply not good enough, this will enable the manager to bring in players of the right pedigree to really challenge and hopefully win some silverware next season.
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