City identify transfer targets

Blues keen to bolster their ranks in January

Last updated: 3rd December 2008

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Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook has revealed that a list of possible targets for the January transfer window has been drawn up.

The Blues have been strongly linked with several high profile players in recent weeks, with the club widely tipped to indulge in a New Year spending splurge.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas is the latest name to be touted as a possible new arrival, although the Spaniard is reported to have spurned City's advances.

With talk of record-breaking deals refusing to go away, and with the Abu Dhabi United Group making no secret of their desire to become a force in world football, Cook admits that there exciting times ahead for the club.

Strategy

"Manchester City Football Club has a clear strategy for the future. We want the right players who will take this club forward and through discussions and meetings between myself, Mark Hughes and his technical staff, we have identified a list of targets," Cook told GuillemBalague.com.

"We will be working to bring those players to the club ourselves and we have not given another party or individual a mandate to negotiate on our behalf. In spite of recent reports, we are not using intermediaries to negotiate with players. In fact, only last week we refused two agents permission to seek out players on our behalf.

"Mark Hughes and I very recently met with the chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarek, to discuss this matter and we are all in agreement that the mandate for seeking out and securing new playing personnel for Manchester City Football Club is ours and ours alone.

"Furthermore, we would like to assure everyone concerned that we are committed to recruiting only those players who we consider to be the very best and most suitable for Manchester City Football Club in the future."