Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini opens the exit door for Roque Santa Cruz
Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz has been one of the most underachieving players in the English Premier League. Ever since he was signed by Mark Hughes at Blackburn, he has been on the receiving end of some long-term injuries
and was later hit by some bad run of games. The South American has been a prolific goal-scorer for Paraguay but has just not been able to bring the same game to the league. Mark Hughes, during his time as a manager at Manchester City, signed Cruz from Blackburn
but once again he encountered some injuries and by the time he got fit, Hughes had left the club. New manager Roberto Mancini has not turned out to be a fan of Cruz and has not given him much game time. Santa Cruz has been spending most of his time on the
sidelines and has often been linked with several clubs, but is still a City player. Mancini, after coming to the club, had said that he would use Cruz in his plans, but after spending hundreds of millions in transfers, the Italian manager has his own selected
strikers. It is only understandable that Roque Santa Cruz has remained the 4 or at times the 5th choice striker at Manchester City.
The City manager has finally said that Santa Cruz would be allowed to leave the club in the January transfer window. Mark Hughes, the man who signed Cruz twice, (first at Blackburn and later at Manchester City) has already shown
interest in bringing the striker to Fulham.
Cruz, who made his way to the Premier League 4 years ago, has been given just one game this season. Mancini, his manager at City, said that Roque is a fantastic player but there is just not enough room for him in the side.
Mark Hughes, on the other hand, has made it clear that he wants to sign Santa Cruz to boost his squad. Hughes had made a strong effort to sign Cruz on a loan deal during the summers, but the deal could not materialize.
While talking to a British newspaper, Hughes said that he has always had confidence and belief in Santa Cruz, which is the reason why he took the striker with him to Manchester City. He added that the South American is yet to achieve
his full potential and once he does, he would be one of the best front-men in the English game.
"My interest in him before was there for everybody to see [...] Whether we pursue that in January is open to debate. I'm not aware that he's available. That might change.
"This time in the transfer window we want to target players quite early so that we are ready to flick the switch when the window opens," said Hughes.
Santa Cruz played 57 games during his time at Blackburn and scored 23 goals before he was signed by Hughes at Manchester City. There, he has been able to play just 23 games in 2 seasons, and bagged just 4 goals in the process.
Manchester City have Carlos Tevez of Argentina as their number one striker and he is also the new club captain. Tevez has been a big hit since making the switch from bitter city rivals Manchester United. After him is the Togo international
Emmanuel Adebayor who was signed from Arsenal; Mario Balotelli was also signed this year by Roberto Mancini. So it is clear that Cruz would not be getting much playing time if he decides to stay.
The deal is expected to be made in January, and if Cruz does make his way to Fulham, he would not be able to play in the Europa League as he would be cup-tied due to Manchester City also being part of the same competition.
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