Tuesday, August 17, 2010

James Milner Close to Joining Manchester City for £24m

Aston Villa midfielder James Milner is now on the verge of signing for Manchester City for a transfer fee of £24 million. City and Villa have reportedly come to an agreement, by which Villa would pay £16 million in cash and City midfielder Stephen Ireland, valued at £8 million, would move to the opposite direction.

England international James Milner has been a target of City manager Roberto Mancini throughout the summer. However, the asking price of Villa and the pay-off demand of Ireland delayed the deal.

James Milner was instrumental behind Villa’s top six finish in the Premier League last season. The 24-year-old can play at various positions in the midfield. City manager is delighted to have the box-to-box midfielder in his squad and has said that the deal would be completed in a day or two.

It is believed that James Milner would be City’s last big-money signing this summer. They have already spent around £100 million to land the players like Jerome Boateng, David Silva, Yaya Youre, Aleksandar Kolarov and Mario Balotelli. Milner’s signing would take their total summer spending to over £120 million.

Meanwhile, Craig Bellamy, another out-of-favor City player, has surprisingly joined his home-town club Cardiff City with the hopes of helping the club achieve a promotion to Premier League this season.

James Milner joined Aston Villa in 2008 and has been a central figure at the club over the last two years. He played his last match for Villa last Saturday when he scored a goal in his side’s 3-0 win over West Ham United.

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