The Sunday papers agree that Manchester City are set for a January splurge, but can't agree on who the champions want to buy.
CITY CLOSE ON BONY SWOOP: Manchester City are eyeing Swansea City's Wilfried Bony as the answer to their problems up front, the Sunday Mirror. Injuries to Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic have left Manuel Pellegrini short of options, leading to James Milner playing as a 'false nine'. Bony is seen as the ideal solution with City making an assault on the top of the table, but would cost a hefty £25m - puzzlingly, the Mirror claims that is £4m MORE than his release clause, but does not explain why City would voluntarily pay more than they have to. OUR VIEW: We know City have unlimited resources, and the arrival of Bony could indeed give them a boost ahead of the second half of the season. But three letters loom over this story - FFP. Financial Fair Play considerations mean City are unlikely to spend £25 million on a stop-gap forward. Only if they intended to offload Dzeko or Jovetic at the end of the season would this make any sense. And wouldn't it just be simpler to bring John Guidetti back from his loan at Celtic?
ER, NO, THEY WANT BENTEKE INSTEAD: The Sun on Sunday claims City's main target is Aston Villa's Christian Benteke, not Bony. The reasoning is that Bony goes on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Ivory Coast this month, so will not be available when he is most needed - during Sergio Aguero's absence through injury. The Sun also points out that City will have to let a foreign player go if a striker arrives, as they are at their limit of 17 non-homegrown players. OUR VIEW: The Africa Cup of Nations issue does make Bony less attractive, but as explained above, FFP means this deal has to be about more than just the next six weeks. It depends what type of player Pellegrini wants - Bony appears a logical upgrade from Jovetic, who has struggled to settle in England; Benteke would be a natural replacement for Dzeko. We'd probably plump for Bony. As far as a player to drop out of the squad goes, the obvious candidate is defender Matija Nastasic, who has not featured since the Community Shield in August and is believed to be in talks over a loan to Schalke.
ACTUALLY, THEY WANT ROSS BARKLEY: Enter the Mail on Sunday, which reckons City will sign Ross Barkley from Everton for a fee in excess of £45m. Everton boss Roberto Martinez is under increasing pressure, and the sale of Barkley would fund a winter spending spree to help reignite the Toffees' faltering campaign. Barkley would offer City drive and dynamism in a central attacking midfield role, where they have become increasingly reliant on Frank Lampard. OUR VIEW: This comes courtesy of Rob Shepherd's Football Grapvine column - the man has contacts, but he can also be miles off-beam. On the face of it, £45m-plus for Barkley seems like a huge figure, but one City would gladly pay if they feel they are getting the next Lampard or Steven Gerrard. Everton would be loath to see Barkley go, but that sort of windfall would allow the club to address holes in the squad. As Southampton have shown, selling talented English players for a premium price can be turned into a positive if the money is spent wisely. Problem is, Everton are unlikely to find many bargains in the January window, and would be better served leaving the overhaul until summer.
CABAYE TO RETURN TO NEWCASTLE: And interesting story in the Sunday Mirror suggests that Yohan Cabaye could be back at Newcastle just a year after leaving for Paris Saint-Germain. Cabaye has struggled to assert himself in the PSG side, and with the French champions desperate land Moussa Sissoko, they could offer the former Newcastle favourite in part-exchange. Sissoko is valued at £20m by Newcastle - the same price PSG paid for Cabaye last January. OUR VIEW: This would be classic Mike Ashley if it happened. Newcastle bought Cabaye for £4m and sold him for £20m. Now they could get him back, with a transfer fee, in exchange for Sissoko - a player they paid just £2m for. For those scoring at home, that would mean converting £6m into Yohan Cabaye, plus £20m, plus whatever cash they get in the Cabaye/Sissoko part exchange. You don't have to like Ashley, but it's those sort of dealings that have made him his billions.
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