A whirlwhind day of  transfer activity at Eastlands saw Manchester City unveil Mario Balotelli, all but complete the signing of James Milner and bid farewell to Stevie Ireland, Craig Bellamy and Felipe Caicedo.

Manager Roberto Mancini also indicated that goalkeeper Shay Given will be allowed to leave if he wants, and City receive an acceptable offer.

Milner travelled to City on Tuesday afternoon after the Blues came to a compromise agreement with Ireland over his demands for a £2m severance payment, the Irish midfielder heading the other way. He is at Eastlands this morning to put the finishing touches to the deal.

City have paid out £16m plus Ireland, a deal said to be worth £24m, which takes the Blues’ summer spending up to £123m.

The Blues began the preliminaries of the England man’s medical, but the niceties should be wrapped up today in time for Milner to make his debut against Liverpool on Monday night.

Balotelli is lined up for a debut against Timisoara after being drafted into the 25-man Europa League squad as a replacement for Roque Santa Cruz.

Mancini welcomed the addition of Milner to his star-studded squad with typical understatement, saying: “He is a good player and an English player, which is important. He can also play in different positions.”

Bellamy has joined Cardiff on a season-long loan, the two clubs agreeing to split his £95,000-a-week wages between them.

The deal ended eight months of acrimony between Mancini  and Bellamy – and it all ended in mutual good wishes and respect.

Bellamy, who had crossed swords with the manager over his training regime and claimed he had not been spoken to for six months, wished Mancini all the best, and thanked chief executive Garry Cook and chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak.

“I am fine with the manager, and hope he does really well,” said Bellamy. “He is a top manager, has brought in some top players and will do very well there."

Forgotten man Caicedo is expected to complet a loan move to West Ham with a view to a permanent deal.

What do you make of the day's business? Have your say.