Roberto Mancini is widely expected to sell a host of
players, including Onuoha and Stephen Ireland, as he trims his
current squad to 25 players, while also tying up deals to bring
Aston Villa midfielder James Milner and Inter Milan’s Mario
Ballotelli to the club.
Sunderland are favourites to sign Onouha, while Ireland will be
used as a makeweight in a £26 million deal involving Milner that is
expected to be completed in the next 48 hours.
Restrictions placed upon Premier League clubs this season could
also mean strikers Roque Santa Cruz and Craig Bellamy leave the
club, especially if Mancini completes the signing of Balotelli or
includes Slovakia’s 20-year-old winger Vladimir Weiss in his
squad.