Manchester City have indicated that Barcelona striker David Villa doesn't figure in their transfer plans, Sky Sports understands.
Villa has struggled to force his way back into contention at the Nou Camp under Tito Vilanova and there were suggestions that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was looking to engineer a late deal to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.
But with City set to offload Mario Balotelli to AC Milan this week, subject to a medical, rumours have now surfaced indicating that Roberto Mancini would turn to the Spaniard as a means of replenishing his attacking numbers.
However, it now appears that he will remain in his native country with Barca after the Premier League champions distanced themselves from making a late move, while Wenger also ruled out making any additions to his squad before Thursday's transfer deadline.
Villa recently turned 31 and it's believed that Mancini would rather focus his attentions on signing a younger striker to replace Balotelli using the £20million gained from his return to Italy.
The Etihad Stadium boss has two prominent names in his crosshairs - Napoli's Edison Cavani and Atletico Madrid hotshot Falcao - and it's expected that he will stretch City's financial resources to capture one or both in the summer.