On the hunt for strikers

Hughes must have done a lot of media on Thursday, because there's all sorts of interesting things floating about. And there's quite a few stories in the Friday 'papers about our pursuit of a new, expensive, top quality centre forward.

Most focus is given to Hughes' comments on Roque Santa Cruz. Speaking about the long-time transfer target who has missed most of this season with injuries, he said:

"We have to make sure that any player we bring to the club is likely to be a success," Hughes said. "You look at all things when you bring in a player, and the injury record is one of those things. You have to do your due diligence; if you don't, then mistakes can be made. Our targets may well change because you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Roque was fit and strong for me in that first year when I was his manager [at Blackburn] and he played exceptionally well. He's a very talented player but thankfully he's not available when we play them on Saturday."

To me this sounds like a real cooling off. Roque Santa Cruz made sense as a signing last summer, and in January. But after a very quiet season, and with a summer window and bags of money to throw at this, he may no longer be the best we can do. I was surprised, then, to read Daniel Taylor's claim that RSC remains 'likely' to be 'the first piece of transfer business for City this summer.' Should Hughes' concerns over Santa Cruz's injury be too much, Taylor mentions Peter Crouch as a possible alternative.

Ian Herbert's take on the situation is rather different. He writes that Hughes' position on Santa Cruz 'remains unclear' due to the injury situation, which sounds closer to the mark. The other option Herbert talks up though, is at the opposite end of the market - another bid for David Villa:

An over-reliance on Craig Bellamy has already illustrated that another striker is Hughes' prime target. Barcelona's Thierry Henry is another in whom Cook has taken an active interest. But Villa, 27, fits the clean-cut image which seems to be among City's considerations in their pursuit of marquee names and also has the maturity which – Bellamy aside – the club's current collection of strikers lacks. City's biggest challenge would be persuading the player, a home-loving Spaniard who seems more disposed to joining Barcelona or Real, to sign. Silva, 23, an attacking midfielder capable of playing on either side of the pitch, may be a more promising prospect.

This is an immeasurably more attractive prospect. We know that Hughes tried to sign Villa (along with Valencia team mate David Silva) in January, but we walked away having been quoted a ludicrous price. There's no disputing that we can pay off a hefty chunk of Los Che's debt this summer in exchange for Villa. The problem, though, is the one we had with Kaká: How do you persuade a world class footballer to play for a mid-table side? We got lucky with Robinho - his discontent in Madrid was such that he was willing to take a chance on a move. But this summer Villa is likely to have offers from three elite clubs: Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona. And while he may just countenance leaving Spain to play for Chelsea, can he be persuaded to pull on a lighter shade of blue next season?

It's a question we're going to hear regarding quite a few players this summer.