"We have had some talks with Manchester City, yes," said Barbosa. "I am still in contact with the clubs who were interested in January.Having only seen them on goal.com and sport.co.uk - not desperately reputable sources, I steered clear. I looked for but could not find a source in the Portugese press. Their provenance was sketchy. But it turns out that they've found their way into Thursday's Times. Which means they're definitely genuine and have been fact-checked and re-translated from the original Portugese.
"There is an agreement with Sporting that he will leave this summer, but we don't have an agreement with any other club [about a transfer] as yet.
"England is his first choice, and he already speaks good English. Everything is possible at the moment."
Let's just say I'm a bit sceptical about this one. While our squad does need some real improving, defensive midfield is a relatively strong area for us. We've just spent big money on Holland's first choice DMC, and we also have his fellow HSV alumnus Vincent Kompany. And then there's Pablo Zabaleta who has proved himself more than competent when required. Given that we have to squeeze Player of the Season Stephen Ireland, Michael Johnson and maybe even Elano into midfield we're not really short of an option or two.
But let's wait and see. If Hughes thinks we need him and he's good enough for us, I believe him.
