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January was always going to be a busy month for Manchester City and the arrival of Roberto Mancini has only underlined this. The new City boss has wasted no time at Eastlands, having already added Patrick Vieira to his glamorous squad and Mancini is keen to bolster his side in order to challenge for the Champions League places. Consequently, the list of players linked with a move to Eastlands is endless with all kinds of stars reportedly close to a signing a deal with Mancini’s men. The latest player to join this list is former Premier League misfit Adrian Mutu.

The Romanian striker had a year to forget in his last stint in England as the former Chelsea man was acrimoniously sacked by the west London club. However, since his controversial drug scandal, the striker has rejuvenated his career and where some players will have let their failure on the big stage affect them (Mateja Kezman anyone?), Mutu has used it to drive himself forwards. He first experienced a successful year with Juventus before moving to Fiorentina and repeatedly impressing for the Viola.

Mutu’s rebirth aside, he is not the right man for City.

It baffles me as to why the Manchester club are constantly linked with striker after striker when they boast arguably the most fearsome set of forwards in the whole league. Mutu’s agent Giovanni Becali has however insisted that City are interested in his man. Becali stated:

"There are several clubs interested in Mutu, clubs that would definitely allow him to increase his wages. There are clubs keen on the player from Russia, Turkey but especially England. (Roberto) Mancini strongly wants him at Manchester City and said that he would be an ideal player for his team. It remains to be seen if Fiorentina will be willing to talk about a possible Mutu transfer."

City’s three pronged strike force of Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and the rampant Carlos Tevez is possibly only rivalled by that of Chelsea’s  or Tottenham Hotspurs not to mention the fact that they have Benjani and Roque Santa Cruz waiting in the wings should Mancini need replacements. So why are they interested in Mutu?

Mutu would no doubt be more than interested in a move back to England despite the spectacular failure of his last spell in the country. The reality is that Mutu still owes Chelsea a lot of money and his current contract with Fiorentina is not providing him with enough income to pay back the £14 million he owes the Blues. He could secure a far more lucrative contract from City’s Arab owners should he join but if he does I will be immensely puzzled.

I fail to see what qualities Mutu offers that City’s other strikers do not already possess. With no disrespect intended to the Romanian, City’s current strikers are just better than him. Emmanuel Adebayor is stronger and when on his game is almost unplayable. Craig Bellamy has proved the surprise package of the side and his lightning pace is causing all defences problems and Carlos Tevez is currently taking the league (and world for that matter) by storm.

It is all good and well having vast financial firepower but it can only bring results if the money is spent in the best way possible. Chelsea purchased their fair share of flops (such as Mutu) before finding the perfect formula and City should not waste their time and money on a player that is not strong enough to start for them.

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