James Milner's Man City move hinges on Stephen Ireland pay-off demand• Stephen Ireland wants £2m to be part of £26m player swap
• Two unnamed clubs show interest in signing Robinho for £20m
Manchester City's move for James Milner has been thrown into question by Stephen Ireland's demands for a £2m payoff to be used as the makeweight in a £26m player-plus-cash exchange.Ireland is refusing to take part in the move unless City give him the money he wants and, with the club steadfastly refusing to give in to what they consider to be exorbitant demands, there are growing concerns within Eastlands and Villa Park that the dispute could lead to the whole deal unravelling.
City had hoped to finalise the move today after agreeing a deal with Villa which valued Milner at £18m and Ireland at £8m. Both players have agreed the terms of new contracts and Milner has been waiting for Ireland to resolve his issues before an official statement was put out to confirm he had become City's fifth major signing of the summer, taking their pre-season spending to £103m.
Instead, Ireland has said he will not sign the deal off until he has been given a "golden handshake" to compensate him for being sold against his will when he has four years of a £65,000-a-week contract still remaining. City have bluntly refused to go that high and have become increasingly frustrated with the player's refusal to accept that his form last season does not merit such a payoff.
Ireland, described as "disillusioned" about the way he no longer forms part of Roberto Mancini's plans, is bargaining from a position of strength in one sense, namely that he is aware this is the only issue holding up the transfer.
City desperately want to resolve the matter so that Milner can be involved in their opening league game of the season, at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but the chance of that happening appears to be dramatically receding, with one of the people involved in the talks saying that "unless he [Ireland] drops these ridiculous demands the whole deal, in theory, could come tumbling down".
Garry Cook, the Manchester City chief executive, and the club's football administrator, Brian Marwood, will resume talks with Ireland and his agent, Paul Masterton, tomorrow but, with no agreement close, there are indications from the Midlands club that Milner may yet be included in the Villa squad to play West Ham United on Saturday.
Kevin MacDonald, who is filling the void as caretaker manager following Martin O'Neill's departure from Villa Park, would have to decide whether the England international is in a suitable state of mind to play.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/12/james-milner-stephen-ireland-manchester-city-robinho
