Ireland's demand stopping Milner deal
James Milner's move to Manchester City is being stopped by City midfielder Stephen Ireland, who is demanding a £2million payment to leave the club.
Milner's move from Aston Villa to City has been in the works for the last few weeks. It is thought that City will offer Villa £18m as well as Ireland, currently rated at £8m.
Milner's departure from Villa was said to be imminent by the club's former manager Martin O'Neill before he resigned earlier this week.
But the deal is now being held up by Ireland, who is refusing to leave City without being paid £2m for doing so.
It is reported that City are unwilling to honour the 23-year-old's request. The transfer has now come to a standstill, as the deal is dependent on Ireland's agreement.
"City have no intentions of backing down in the face of Ireland's demands," BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Murphy said of the situation.
Mancini to offload Ireland
Ireland, 23, has been a City player since 2001. He joined the senior team in 2005 and has scored 16 goals in 138 appearances.
His form was particularly strong under manager Mark Hughes during the 2008–2009 season, during which he noted the most assists of any player on the team and scored 9 league goals.
But the midfielder has fallen out of favour at City since Italian Roberto Mancini took charge of the team in December 2009.
Ireland's contract extends until the end of the 2013–2014 season, but it is expected that he will be one of the players to leave during the current transfer window.
"[City] feel that too many clubs are trying to take advantage of their vast riches and that £2m is a ridiculous sum to dispense with a player who didn't feature much last season and is not in Roberto Mancini's future plans," Murphy explained.
Murphy also added that City will not up their £18m cash offer, meaning the deal could fall through if Ireland and City fail to agree on its terms.
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