Man. City not willing to budge on Tevez

Manchester City are standing firm in their insistence that Carlos Tevez will not be made available for loan.

Officials from Milan are set to meet with representatives from City tomorrow to discuss a possible deal for the Argentine striker.

Milan have proposed taking the 27-year-old on a free loan in January with a promise to buy him permanently in the summer.

Yet City have long said they are only interested in selling the player and manager Roberto Mancini again underlined that stance yesterday.

Mancini said: “Milan know they can’t get him on loan, they know it very well. But if they want to buy Carlos, for us, that is okay.

“We hope that Carlos can find a good solution for him, and that he can come back and play football. But they can’t have him on loan.

“This is sure, 100%. The best solution for us is to sell him.”

Tevez remains in Argentina ahead of a possible transfer move when the January window opens next month.

Paris Saint-Germain have also been heavily linked with the former West Ham and Manchester United forward but Milan would appear the front-runners, if they can find a deal to suit City.

City currently have a number of players out on loan, including high-earning strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, and Mancini does not believe that is ideal.

He said: “When Manchester City buy a player, they have to pay a lot of money. But when we want to sell them, they have to go on loan.

“This is not good. It is not good for the club and it is not correct for the other players.

“Manchester City paid Carlos a lot of money three years ago. It is correct that if one club, it could be Milan, Juventus, Paris SG – they pay Carlos for his value.

“This is correct.”

City, the Premier League leaders, are back in action today as Stoke visit the Etihad Stadium.

The Potters were Mancini’s first opponents after he was appointed two years ago this week.

City won that game but were given a torrid time by Tony Pulis’s men when the sides met three times in February 2010, being held to two draws and losing an FA Cup replay.

Played yesterday

Wolves 2
Ebanks-Blake 37; Zubar 82;
Norwich 2
Surman 12; Jackson 76;

Blackburn 1
Yakubu 67;
Bolton 2
Davies 5; Reo-Coker 30;

Playing today
20.45 Aston Villa vs Arsenal; Man. City vs Stoke City; Newcastle vs West Brom.
21.00 Everton vs Swansea; Fulham vs Man. Utd; QPR vs Sunderland; Wigan vs Liverpool.

Tomorrow
21.00 Tottenham vs Chelsea.