Barce & Milan plot bargain deal on deadline day
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Barcelona and AC Milan plot bargain deal on deadline day for Manchester City misfit Robinho
Which way is out? Manchester City's Robinho is wanted in Spain and Italy, and also Turkey
Barcelona and AC Milan are preparing last-ditch bids to sign Manchester City misfit Robinho - but both are looking for a bargain deal.
City were prepared to let the Brazil forward go to Fenerbahce for a fee which could have reached £26million, only for Robinho to reject the move and hold out for interest from Spain and Italy.
Both Milan and Barcelona have been in touch with the player’s representatives for several weeks, biding their time while working on other targets.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s loan move from Barca to AC Milan has left the Catalans light of a forward and Milan with money left to spend because they aren’t laying out as much as they expected on the Sweden striker.
Nou Camp insiders have lined up several options to strengthen the left-side of attack and the final say will lie with coach Pep Guardiola.
The Spanish champions started the season with an impressive 3-0 win against Racing Santander, but their first-team squad has just 19 senior players and there is a perceived weakness down the left side, exacerbated by Thierry Henry’s departure.
Loan ranger: Robinho spent time in his native country on loan last season
As well as Robinho, they are eyeing Valencia’s Juan Mata and Ajax star Luis Suarez, but the coach may decide to stick with what he’s got and put more faith in promising youngsters Pedro, Thiago Alcantara and Jonathan dos Santos.
Mata would be difficult to sign because of strained relations dating back to Barca’s signing of David Villa, while Suarez is cup-tied for the Champions League. That makes Robinho the preferred option, but Barca president Sandro Rosell is constrained by his own pledge that only £15m is left to spend on players this summer.
City would want more - at least in add-ons - for a player who was a British-record signing when captured from Real Madrid for £32.5m in September 2008.
The signing of Javier Mascherano from Liverpool was supposed to complete Barca’s summer recruitment, but Ibrahimovic’s departure after weeks of the club insisting he would stay has caused a rethink.
Asked about more signings before the transfer window closes on Tuesday, Guardiola said: ‘Everything is possible. I am satisfied with the squad, with their ability and with the back-up that we have. Today I am satisfied with the squad made available to me by the board.’
Decision time: Barcelona are short on serious experience on the left, but Pep Guardiola may decide to give youth a chance
Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has admitted his side could still be in for Robinho, but the Italians are likely to test City’s resolve by demanding an initial loan with a view to a permanent deal next summer.
The insistence worked in signing Ibrahimovic from Barca and Berlusconi, when asked if the Swede was the last arrival, said: ‘If a player we are interested proves affordable, then we could also do it.’
When pressed about Robinho, he said: 'It doesn't depend on us, if it depended on us ... Milan's intentions are there.
'Where could he (Robinho) play? We have so many possibilities and then it's better to have three players for two roles.'
Milan are likely to lose Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to Schalke and Marco Borriello may go to Juventus, leaving the San Siro giants with room to improve up front. They will also free up funds by selling defender Kakha Kaladze to Genoa for £3.3m.