Player Preview #9 - Emmanuel Adebayor

CURRENTLY unsettled at Manchester City, Emmanuel Adebayor could get his wish to move away from the Etihad Stadium this summer, providing potential buyers stump up the £14m asking price.

Having spent the last five months of the previous campaign on-loan at Spanish giants Real Madrid, Adebayor is holding out for a permanent deal that could take him back to the Santiago Bernabéu.

He has made no secret of his desire to leave Manchester, and is just one of several want away players under Roberto Mancini's charge at the Etihad Stadium. But, the Togolese striker's £170,000-a-week wages will be a major stumbling block if he is to engineer a move away from City.

Reports have suggested that he has turned down approaches from Blackburn Rovers and Paris Saint-Germain, who were hoping that they would be able to tempt Adebayor with a move back to France.

|Image courtesy of telegraph.co.uk|

But the former Arsenal man would prefer a return to Spain where he played at the highest level under José Mourinho. Los Merengues made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League, only to be seen off by fierce rivals Barcelona, who would go on to win the competition 3-1 against Manchester United at Wembley.

It is understandable why Adebayor would want to leave City. Despite the attraction of European football, he has simply fallen out of favour with Mancini, and there is no shortage of funds at the club to recruit more strikers should both Adebayor and Tevez leave this summer.

No player wants to sit on the bench, or not even get in the matchday squad week in week out, so it is only fair that the man who cost £25m when he signed from Arsenal in 2009 should be allowed to leave should the right offer come in.

What may displease City fans is the way Adebayor has gone about his demands to leave. Too often he has spoken out of turn, verbally bashing the club from time to time. Though the City faithful never like to boo a returning player, I cannot see Adebayor getting the warmest of receptions should he ever cross the white line at the Etihad Stadium in the future.

Player Preview #6 - Michael Johnson

ANOTHER graduate of Manchester City's famed youth academy, Michael Johnson was one of the hottest prospects on the Premier League scene before his career was blighted by a series of injuries.

His first City goal came under the reign of Sven-Göran Eriksson in a 1-0 victory on the first home game of the 2007-08 campaign against Derby County. That would prove to be Johnson's best season for the club, making 23 appearances.

However, mid-season, he suffered an abdominal injury which kept him out for a few months, but he returned in February 2008 and saw the term out. After a promising start to the next campaign, a recurrence of the abdominal injury against Brighton and Hove Albion in a Carling Cup tie would see the midfielder sidelined for the rest of the season.

Since then, the 23-year-old has made just two appearances for the club, one in the league against West Ham United, the other in a 5-1 victory over Scunthorpe United, in which he scored the fifth goal.

|Image courtesy of mcfc.co.uk|

Sadly, in December 2009, Johnson suffered a serious knee injury in training which would keep him out for the remainder of the season. He has failed to make an appearance for the first team since, and has stated that he would like to leave the club on-loan in order to regain match fitness.

Now, he has been left out of the City team for the tour of the U.S this month, along with several other first team players who are expected to leave the club. Emmanuel Adebayor is one of the biggest names left behind by Roberto Mancini, and there is no secret of his desire to quit the FA Cup winners this summer.

It would be a shame to see a player of Johnson's calibre leave, especially having seen him come through the ranks. Had he been able to remain fit, he may have had a crucial role to play in the future of the club, but, as it is, he may find himself shipped out by Mancini in order to make way for a less injury prone player.

Once labelled as 'the next Colin Bell', the Platt Lane graduate is loved by City fans for his surging runs from midfield and his ability to pick out a pass with consummate ease. Hopefully he will be at the club for years to come and enjoy the success with the fans. It would be great to see him back out on the Etihad Stadium pitch once more.