Manchester City : Squad Analysis

In an interesting summer, Manchester City have been the club most keen to splash the cash so far bringing in Kolarov, Boateng, Silva and Toure. If reports are to believed, Balotelli has also all but signed and Milner may still just about be on the radar. The Drogba link at least, appears to be off the table. So who plays where?

Goalkeeper

Either Joe Hart or Shay Given will be warming the bench next season due largely to City's insistence on not letting Hart out on loan. Shay Given recently supported Fabio Capello's decision not to use Hart in England's miserable World Cup campaign stating, "it would have been a bit too early for him". Hart hit back saying, “I’ve just turned up at City trying to do the best I can.... At the moment I’m just really concentrating on getting that number one spot.” It will be interesting to see how this plays out next season, though I would assume Shay Given is currently the number one in Mancini's mind (although it's worth noting the Italian was the man who pulled the plug on legendary shot-stopper Francesco Toldo in favour of the unproven 25 year-old Julio Cesar at Inter Milan).

Defenders

One would assume the left-back spot is going to Aleksandar Kolarov. Bad news for Wayne Bridge but it is a step up for the club. Javier Garrido then, may well be shown the door soon. Club captain Kolo Toure will surely be one of starting centre-backs but who partners him? £23m Joleon Lescott must be a candidate. But what about new signing Jerome Boateng? And Vincent Kompany was impressive when he played last season..... Nedum Onuoha, you would assume, will be looking for a new club very soon. The right-back area is not as strong with Zabaleta and Richards the main candidates - this is why I thing Jerome Boateng will be pushed out into his secondary roll of right-back allowing Vincent Kompany to get the narrow nod over Lescott at centre-back.

Midfielders

This is where it really gets interesting. City's abundance of wingers leads me to assume Mancini will employ a 4-4-2 system. One certainty is that Yaya Toure will be a starter. Due to the attacking nature of the rest of the team, I think he will be partnered by a defensive minded player - ruling out Stephen Ireland. The 23-year-old has been linked in a move away from Eastlands - possibly being offered to Aston Villa as part of any James Milner deal. At 34 years old, Patrick Vieira surely won't be first choice next season. Michael Johnson is another player who may be better off applying his trade elsewhere as he has fallen out of favour in recent years after a promising start to top-flight football. One option is to employ Joleon Lescott at centre-back allowing Vincent Kompany to play in midfield though this seems unlikely given the calibre of the alternatives at the manager's disposal. The remaining two candidates; Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong - with the likely nod going to the former. It is likely de Jong will be looking for a way out of City in the near future as he knows competition for places is growing.

The flanks are equally confusing for City. One of the wingers in question is Vladimir Weiss. "I've got three years left on my contract. I'm going to try to stay at City if possible." Weiss has expressed interest in moving out on loan next season - perhaps hoping to make an impact once some of the dust has settled. Craig Bellamy is also on his way out. The Welshman looks likely to join up with Mark Hughes at Fulham although Harry Redknapp has reportedly tabled a £4m bid. Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal have allegedly shown interest in Shaun Wright-Philips although the latest rumours link him with Aston Villa. £24m David Silva is a nailed-on starter at least. His ability to play on either wing leaves the final vacant midfield spot open to a number of people. The prodigal Robinho is reluctantly coming back to City this summer and will be difficult to leave out if he reproduces his international form. Despite the brave words on Macini, I can't help thinking Robinho is the sort of player who will find a way out if he really wants to. Adam Johnson impressed everyone last season by making the transition from Championship star to Premier League wonderkid with apparent ease. His biggest competition comes from guys yet to sign - namely Milner and Balotelli. The James Milner link has been cooling slightly of late with a £30m price tag slapped on his signature. The Mario Balotelli deal on the other hand is all but done. The reported £24m fee is representative of the sheer quality of the guy.

Strikers

Felipe Caicedo and Jo are likely to be sold this season after failing to make an impact and spending recent seasons out on loan. Roque Santa Cruz looks set to put his Manchester misery behind him with a move away to another Premier League side at a cut-price possible. Assuming no new signings, that leaves Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor. City fans will be hoping for more of the same from these two - particularly Carlos Tevez who is threatening to make the club a powerhouse all by himself. It's worth noting Mario Balotelli's ability to play up-front (freeing up Robinho/Johnson to play out wide) although this would require Mancini to drop one of his talismanic top two. As for Didier Drogba - his agent is now saying the big Ivorian isn't interested in a move. The other reported target Fernando Torres looks set to make a dramatic move to Chelsea this summer.

There is definitely going to be crazy amounts of selling going on as City look to cut their squad down to 25 to meet Premier League regulations. Stand by for madness.

Manchester City (4-4-2) : Given, Boateng, Kompany, Toure, Kolarov, Balotelli, Yaya, Barry, Silva, Adebayor, Tevez

What do you think is Manchester City's strongest eleven?