City offload star

Friday, 30/07/2010

Javier Garrido has become the second player to leave Manchester City as Roberto Mancini begins to trim his bloated squad.

The manager already has a replacement for Lazio-bound Garrido in new arrival Aleksander Kolarov - who joined from the Italians earlier in the month.

Martin Petrov was the first player to leave Eastlands, joining Bolton on a free at the start of the month.

With over 30 players in his first-team squad and further arrivals such as James Milner and Mario Balotelli expected, Mancini will have to reduce his squad to 25 players in line with new Premier League regulations.

The homegrown ruling won't be an issue for Mancini, with the likes of Gareth Barry, Adam Johnson, Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott and Stuart Taylor all qualifying, Mancini only needs just two more homegrown players in his squad.

If Milner arrives on Eastlands he'd be number seven and only one from the following would need to be kept: Nedum Onuoha, Wayne Bridge, Michael Johnson, Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy.

Bellamy has been linked with a £4m move to Tottenham and Fulham, Bridge is reportedly a target for Liverpool and Wright-Phillips could be used as bait in the Milner deal.

Roque Santa Cruz is also expected to leave the City of Manchester stadium after an injury-ravaged spell.

* Who should Mancini sell?

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