Hughes won't be ripped off

City manager will not be held to ransom over January signings

By Richard Bailey   Last updated: 13th November 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Hughes won't be ripped off

Hughes: Ready to add to his squad in January

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Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has declared that City will not pay over the odds for possible transfer targets in the January transfer window.

Following their takeover by the Abu Dhabi based Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on transfer deadline day and subsequent transfer of Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record fee of £32.5million it is no secret that City have cash to spend in January.

But the former Blackburn Rovers boss believes that chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and executive chairman Garry Cook will not be bullied into making unrealistic offers.

Hughes told City's official website: "There may be the danger that prices go up because it is Manchester City that are interested.

"I think that people will not understand we will not get ripped off.

"The owner and the chairman are very astute businessmen. They know the value of a good deal so they are not going to be taken for a ride.

"They understand the value of players and what it will take to make deals happen and that needs to be remembered when dealing with them."

signings

At the top of the City managers' shopping list are rumoured to be Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz, Chelsea full-back Wayne Bridge and Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra.

Hughes has tried to keep his transfer targets a secret but does admit that everything is being done to make sure new faces arrive in the next transfer window.

He added: "We are going to make sure we do everything we can to bring in the players I know will help us.

"We hope that the right ones will be available and that we will be able to bring them here.

"Player acquisition is not an exact science, you try to do your homework and ensure that everything goes through. But even the best-laid plans get compromised at the last minute and then don't go through."

Three points

City are looking to get back on track against Hull at the KC Stadium on Sunday after three consecutive league defeats .

Hughes will travel without midfielder Gelson Fernandes and captain Richard Dunne who are suspended after the pair were sent-off in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.