By Alan Nixon
Roberto Mancini wants his Manchester City bosses to sign Brazilian star Paulinho in the transfer window.
Mancini has asked his money-men to finance a move for the midfield dynamo, who’s set to play for Corninthians in the Club World Cup this week, and hopes to do a deal at around £12 million.
The Italian thinks he needs fresh legs in midfield, where his side have been relying on Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry, with Nigel de Jong sold in the summer and replacement Javi Garcia failing to make an impact.
In addition, Toure could be absent at the Africa Cup of Nations next month, stretching City’s squad during a vital period of the title campaign and handing leaders and neighbours Manchester United even more of an advantage.
Mancini, who watched City lose to United on Sunday to fall six points behind them in the table, has been on the trail of Paulinho for months and sent scouts to Brazil to see the 24-year-old.
Paulinho has won eight caps, mainly in friendlies, and City would need to make an appeal to get him a work permit – but their chances would be good.
Corinthians may sell if the price is right, but any deal will come down to whether Mancini can winkle money from City’s Arab rulers when he’s been warned that he must sell before he can buy again.
City are conscious of UEFA’s looming Financial Fair Play rules, and Mancini is also wary the club may be hoarding money in case they need to hire his replacement at the end of the season.
So the Italian wants Paulinho to save his title bid – and also probably his job – and hopes that the club’s new transfer supremo Txiki Beguiristain can deliver.
Paulinho – full name Jose Paulo Bezerra Maciel Junior – played in Europe for clubs in Lithuania and Poland as a teenager before returning home, where he has made his name at Corinthians.
Since the hard-running and powerful Paulinho joined them, the Sao Paulo side have won the Brazilian title and the Copa Libertadores – South America’s answer to the Champions League.
