Manchester City agree to deal for James Milner
English Premier League big-spenders Manchester City have finally agreed to terms with Aston Villa over the transfer of James Milner, with Stephen Ireland making the move in the opposite direction in a deal worth around £26m in total.
Milner was undergoing a medical exam in Manchester today and has already agreed personal terms on a lengthy contract that will see him double his earnings at Villa. Before the terms of the transfer were agreed with Villa, City manager Roberto Mancini said at a press conference that “I hope we can close it between today today and tomorrow, I think that Milner is a good player, an English player which is important. I think that Milner can play in different positions.”
Talks over the move accelerated today after Milner revealed last night he wanted the matter to be resolved within 24 hours or he would call off any deal. The transfer was held up after Ireland, who had four years left to run on his contract with City, demanded a payoff of around £2m to move to Birmingham. As the hold-up was not due to any fault on Milner’s part, the 24-year-old had become increasingly frustrated over mega-rich City’s reluctance to reach a settlement with Ireland.
Set to fly out for Euro clash
Milner had been named in Villa’s UEFA Europa League squad for their play-off round tie against Rapid Vienna. As well as receiving talented midfielder Ireland, Villa will be paid around £16m in compensation for their England international.
When the transfer has been officially made, midfielder Milner will become City’s latest purchase in a huge summer spending spree that has seen them splash out more than £100m to also secure the services of powerful defensive midfielder Yaya Toure from Barcelona, Germany international defender Jerome Boateng, talented young striker Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan, Aleksander Kolarov from Lazio and 2010 FIFA World Cup-winning winger David Silva from Valencia.
One of the biggest question's surrounding this year's Premier League season will be whether City's big-money acquisitions will pay off and put them in the top-tier, or whether they've tried to do too much too fast and will fizzle out.
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