Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is ready to make a big-money move for Fernando Torres if the striker decides to leave Liverpool.
Torres is believed to be unsettled at Anfield with new Reds boss Roy Hodgson admitting the Spaniard has a "beef'' with the club. Mancini is looking to add another top striker to his bulging squad and reports indicate he could spend up to £70 million to sign Torres ahead of Chelsea, or else look to Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg or Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli.
Torres is believed to be unsettled at Anfield with new Reds boss Roy Hodgson admitting the Spaniard has a "beef'' with the club. Mancini is looking to add another top striker to his bulging squad and reports indicate he could spend up to £70 million to sign Torres ahead of Chelsea, or else look to Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg or Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli.
Mancini said, ''Torres is one of the best strikers in Europe and is already playing in the Premier League for three years and knows it very well. But it depends on his situation - his price and whether he wants to come. There are two or three strikers that we could go for, but it is the same situation as it is with James Milner. First there is the price and then it depends if the players want to change team.''
Liverpool's failure to qualify for the Champions League removes that barrier from what City can offer, while the Manchester club's ability to pay their top players up to £200,000 per week would almost double his current pay packet.
Jerome Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov, Yaya Toure and David Silva have already joined City this summer but Mancini's recruitment drive is far from over, although he admitted the almost limitless wealth of City's owners has been a sticking point in negotiations as clubs hold out for over-the-odds prices they know City can easily meet. Aston Villa midfielder James Milner is one player who continues to interest Mancini but he insists the club will not be held to ransom."When Manchester City enquire about a £10 million player, the club asks for £20 million.
That is not good for us,'' said Mancini. "James is still a player who interests us but only at the right price.''However, Robinho looks certain to leave Eastlands after Mancini confirmed the forward does not want to play for the club. The forward spent the second half of last season on loan at Santos.
Mancini said, "I don't know about Robinho's situation because he doesn't want to come back, I have now, with all the new signings, 30 players. It is important that we get to the start of the season with only 25 players because that is the number of names we can put on the list. It is better for me and the other players who are not on the list that they go to another team. I think it is better for the extra that they go rather than staying and not playing. That would be a big problem, for the players and for us."