Bridge happy to fight for place at Man CityESPNsoccernet has been told that Wayne Bridge has been assured his future remains at Eastlands despite the imminent arrival of left-back Aleksandr Kolarov and rumoured interest from Liverpool.
City will spend £17 million on Serbian defender Kolarov and the deal has led to speculation linking the 29-year-old Bridge with a move to Liverpool, as new boss Roy Hodgson is on the lookout for a new left back after the departures of Emiliano Insua and Fabio Aurelio.
However, Bridge, who declined to be included in England's World Cup squad because of a well-publicised fall-out with John Terry, naturally has sought clarification about his future with Manchester City and has been told he will not be sold.
''Wayne Bridge has been told by Manchester City that he is not for sale, that the manager wants two players for every position,'' a source told Soccernet. "That's fine by Wayne who is very happy at Manchester City with three years left on his current contract, having been there for one-and-a-half years already.''
Liverpool are still likely to push to sign the experienced defender, who may ultimately grow tired of finding himself in a similar position to the one that drove him out of Chelsea, and the source maintained that a move could yet happen.
''We all know in football that the situation can change,'' he said. ''If Liverpool are serious, and get some money in by selling one of their big stars, they could make an offer for Wayne, and who knows then if the situation changes."
Ultimately, Manchester City could be left with up to 15 players to get rid of after their summer spending spree and the source warned that the club face a similar problem to that of Chelsea in the early days of Roman Abramovich.
"When you look back at Chelsea in 2003 and 2004, there was a build-up of players the club wanted to get rid of as they brought more and more players into the club,'' he added. "The then-chief executive Peter Kenyon was paying out £2 million to some players just to persuade them to leave.
"As yet City haven't come round to the realisation that after their spending spree, they will be left with a lot of players who will not even make their squad for the Premier League games. They will be left with a lot of high earners. They might wish to sell them now, but why would players leave unless they are paid up the remainder of their signing-on fees and loyalty payments?
"The club who might want to buy them couldn't possibly afford the wages they are getting at Manchester City, so there has to be a financial incentive to move them on.
"Just look at players like Jo, Caicedo, and Ireland, and there are many more who look as though they are stuck at City on big wages, and clubs are not interested unless the players lower their sights on salaries. By the time City stop buying in players this summer, there could be as many as 15 players they will need to sell off."
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