Man City want Angel Di Maria to replace Robinho

The Guardian reports that Manchester City are targetting Benfica's Angel Di Maria as a replacement for Robinho. The 21-year-old Argentinian would cost them £27m. City have finally accepted that Robinho, the Brazilian striker whose £32.5m transfer from Real Madrid in September 2008 kickstarted the latest revolution at the Eastlands club, will be leaving come the next transfer window in January, most likely to European champions Barcelona. According to the newspaper, the 25-year-old doesn't "want [to spend] another day in Manchester", a statement that City boss Mark Hughes openly dismissed yesterday as "people making mischief" but privately chimes with what the Welshman knows. The decision by Hughes to break up the clique of Brazilian players at the club by selling Elano, loaning out Jo and seeing off Glauber Berti has contributed to Robinho's unhappiness at the club...

A further blow to the Moss Side Galacticos comes from Barcelona's midfielder Yaya Toure, who dismissed links with the club for whom his brother Kolo turns out. Agent Dimitri Seluk said that his client, who is out of favour at the Camp Nou, was looking for a big club to move to - and he didn't consider Manchester City to be in that bracket. "If Barca do not want Yaya then I can name eight other clubs, some of the biggest in the world, that are interested in signing him," Seluk told radio station RAC-1. "One thing I can say though is that if he does leave Barca he will not go to Manchester City because he will sign for a bigger club." Ouch...

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez could swoop in the January transfer window for Carlton Cole, West Ham's talented striker. According to today's Daily Mail, the 25-year-old has impressed the Anfield set-up with his performances for the relegation-bothered east Londoners - he scored one of his six Premier League goals this term against Benitez's side in September. With his main attacking threats Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard having injury-punctuated seasons, and their replacements David Ngog and Andriy Voronin palpably not up to the job, the Spanish manager has a proven goalscorer as his prime winter target. Benitez may need to offload Javier Mascherano to Barcelona to release the necessary funds to gazump the other teams stalking Cole, who is currently injured...

Blackburn Rovers' out-of-favour South African striker Benny McCarthy has indicated that he will leave Ewood Park in January. The Proteas hitman has been ignored by manager Sam Allardyce, and would be happy to join the relegation battle at Portsmouth if it meant he was getting first team action. "Portsmouth are going through a bad patch but are still a top side. I have discussed them with Aaron," he told the Sun, referring to fellow South African Aaron Mokoena, a Fratton Park favourite. "There are other clubs in England and Europe that have shown interest in me, too. I am better than what we have at Rovers but, unfortunately, the manager prefers a different style of player - and that is why I am not playing"... ·