Talk of limitless funds and hundreds of millions of pounds burning a hole in the Blues boss’s back pocket as the window flings open at midnight tomorrow are, however, wide of the mark.
Although no-one at Eastlands is prepared to talk numbers for fear of negatively distorting an already hugely inflated market, Hughes is thought to have somewhere between £40-£60m to spend.
That said, owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak might be prepared to add more should a superstar suddenly become available.
Cheered by four points from the last six that quickly catapulted the Blues out of the bottom three in the league, Hughes is going into the New Year in high spirits and with confidence boosted.
He knows full well that City is now one of the most attractive destinations in European football for players with the right mixture of desire and ambition.
However, he is also savvy enough to warn the rest of football that to expect the Blues to be the ones who oil the wheels of the transfer market on their own is far-fetched.
“The window in not just about acquiring players it is also about what the budget will withstand,” he declared. “The main aim is to bring in quality that supplements the quality that we already have.
“We have to make sure the deals that we do are the right deals but at the same time – and I have said it before - we will not be paying vastly over the market value for anyone.
“There are those who believe that City will be the club to stimulate the market next month and that most of the money sloshing around will be our money. It is assumed that everyone else will be able to do deals with the money that we have given them but at the end of the day we have to protect the business that is Manchester City.
“Agents have to understand that we have realistic market values that we have placed on players and clubs have to understand that too.”
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steve perry (31/12/2008 at 12:49)
woolleyback blue, Heart of the City (31/12/2008 at 13:00)
CTID
Paul Lake's Knee (31/12/2008 at 13:11)
Give the bloke a break - he has said just about everytime he is asked he is looking for quality players to add to what we already have. Kompany, Zabaleta and SWP werent too bad were they? TBH is a turkey but 3 out of 4 is a very good record (I dont see Robinho or Jo as his signings)
Straight to the point, Westhoughton (31/12/2008 at 13:13)
Taggart , Ulverston (31/12/2008 at 13:19)
Manc on the mersey, Liverpool (31/12/2008 at 13:41)
I belive the players you mentioned would be the perfect haul for city & would hate to see the likes of bellemy in a blue shirt!! he's a trouble causer & i cant stand his bad attitude! Sparky will come good im sure of that, if he didnt have a few cards up his sleeve then he'd probably have been out of a job already but i have every confidence in him sortin it out & clearly so does the city board!
samjoe, manchester (31/12/2008 at 13:47)
OB1 (31/12/2008 at 13:53)
Dromina 1 (31/12/2008 at 13:56)
Moonboots (31/12/2008 at 13:58)
Would you prefer him to say "I'm prepared to pay whatever is asked to sign the players i want"? Even if this is what he thinks he cannot publicly state it.
crosspennineblue (31/12/2008 at 13:58)
Hughes knows only a miracle can save him now, so he must get as close to his perfect line-up for the second half of the season to keep him in his dream job - and I'm sure anything less than Top 6 will see him replaced. Definitely won't be sacked mid-season now (unless we're rock bottom, obviously), but he has to prove to ADUG he's "got it", by finishing HIGH, otherwise the cheque book will be out for a Mr Jose Mourinho.
But I will say one thing about Mourinho. Even though I'd much prefer him to Hughes, let's not think we're the only English club he'd come to in 2009. The way Scolari is going, he's probably gonna walk out on Chelsea next year, which then paves the way for a return of...........
You guessed it!
Emjay See (31/12/2008 at 14:03)
At a guess
Santa £18m
Upson £12m
Lescot £12m
Senna £12m
Villa or Drogba or Buffon or Kaka (including possibility of more than one) for £30m - £50m a pop as a pressie from Abu Dhabai.
Straight to the point, Westhoughton (31/12/2008 at 14:39)
I know you told me to go and watch Bolton because of some of my extreme view on ambition, however it's nice to see that you have got into the spirit. The sprinkling of players in your post would be ideal. Incidentally if a reliable source comes up trumps a couple of them marquee signings might end up in a blue shirt come January
sylar (31/12/2008 at 15:02)
ON DEAD LINE DAY IN AUGUST WE BID £35M ON BERBATOFF,£40M ON VILLA AND £50M ON TORRES. THATS A LOT OF MONEY JUST ON THEM 3.
I PREDICT CITY WILL SPEND OVER £100,000,000 ON NEW PLAYERS THIS JANUARY.
THE £49-£60M WILL BE SPENT ON PLAYERS FROM PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS, ANYTHING UP TOO INFINITY WILL BE SPENT ON FORIGN IMPORTS.
COOK WILL ASK HUGHES DO YOU FANCY KAKA,BUFFON,ETC HE WILL SAY, YES PLEASE BOSS MAN.
HUGHES WILL SAY CAN I HAVE CRUZ,UPSON,BRIDGE ETC MR BOSS MAN. COOK WILL SAY OK, NO PROBS HOW MUCH WANT.
IM JUST GETTING FRUSTRAITED WAITING FOR IT ALL TO HAPPEN AND AT THE BACK OF MY MIND I KEEP THINKING THIS IS CITY, WHEN WILL IT GO WRONG. HELP ME STOP FEELING LIKE THIS.
PS. I FANCY A FLUTTER ON US TO WIN THE FA CUP THIS SEASON, THAT IS IF WE GET PAST FORREST.
CITY TILL I DIE
abu dhabi city group (31/12/2008 at 15:20)
city aren't talkin and it looks like they've told agents and potential signings to do the same or deal off.
David, North M/C (31/12/2008 at 15:24)
frank clarke's guitar tutor, warrington (31/12/2008 at 15:32)
Seven Stars Smooth Blue, Manchester (31/12/2008 at 16:02)
tommybatess, Langley (31/12/2008 at 16:37)
Edski Vega, Nottingham (31/12/2008 at 17:11)
BARBEX MCFC SUPPORTERS CLUB lanzarote., lanzarote, canary islands (31/12/2008 at 17:41)
kare ingebritsen city legend (31/12/2008 at 18:10)
ian qtip, Brooklyn (31/12/2008 at 18:54)
bobinho, sale (31/12/2008 at 21:23)
craig (01/01/2009 at 01:33)