Daniele de Rossi:
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini will reportedly ask new director of football Txiki Begiristain to sign Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi in January.
De Rossi, 29, a long-term targer has reportedly told friends he wants to leave Roma, his only professional club. The Mail reports that Roma would ask at least £20 million for De Rossi, who would be paid about £100,000 per week.
City has plenty of depth in De Rossi's central defensive role, including key man Yaya Toure, Jack Rodwell and Javi Garcia, signed from Benfica in the summer. However, James Milner and Gareth Barry, both with around 2 years left on their contracts, have fallen out of favour with Roberto Mancini.
Mancini has been a great admrier of De Rossi for a number of years, and a move to City for the experienced Italian looks highly probable in January 2013.
Radamel Falcao:
Roberto Mancini has reportedly held talks with the agent of Radamel Falcao.
The Colombian international is regarded as one of the hottest strikers in world football, and he is expected to leave Atletico Madrid at the end of the season.
Falcao has been linked with Chelsea since hitting a hat-trick against the Londoners in the UEFA Super League. This has prompted Chelsea and rivals Real Madrid to attempt to lure Falcao into their respective squads.
However, several reports suggest Manchester City coach Mancini has already met with the agent of the 26-year-old, as he looks to lure the player to the Etihad Stadium.
Falcao remains under contract at the Vicente Calderon until 2016, and he would cost a transfer fee of around £40million with a salary of around £5million-per-year.
The only potential problem with purchasing the Colombian would be that of "too many forwards", a problem Mark Hughes faced at the club a few years ago. Roberto Mancini recently left fellow Italian Mario Balotelli out of the match squad to face Tottenham Hotspur, and this has fueled speculation that the 22-year old will be sold to former rivals AC Milan. This would free up some space, although City would still be left with three talented striker in Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko.
Jack Butland:
Jack Butland is one of the up-and-coming talents of English football and Roberto Mancini is considering a £6 million bid for the 'keeper.
City attempted to lure the Englishman from Birmingham City in the summer, after successful performances for Team GB in the London 2012 Olympics. However, his valuation was too high – and manager Lee Clark did not want to sell.
Roberto Mancini plans to grab the big shot-stopper for around £6million and possibly loan him back to the Blues to keep him sharp and playing every week, with current first-choice goalkeeper Joe Hart irreplaceable.
And now that the auction has calmed down, City hope they can do a deal at a proper price to recruit Butland as cover and long-term competition for Joe Hart.
Butland wants to play to help his development, so a buy-and-loan-back agreement would suit him – while a move to a Premier League club also means a major pay hike.
Birmingham fended off interest in the summer but could be more open to do business now.
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