Manchester City Targeting Kaka, Messi, Villa & Terry

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WCQ: Lionel Messi - Argentina (Mexsport)

The Daily Mail claims that Manchester City will attempt to land either Kaka, Lionel Messi, David Villa or John Terry during the winter transfer window.

According to the tabloid, Sky Blues boss Mark Hughes has been promised one superstar signing by the the club's Abu Dhabi-based benefactor, Shiekh Mansour.

The Welsh manager has focused on comparitively low-key targets thus far, with Blackburn Rovers' Roque Santa Cruz and West Ham United duo Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker tipped to join Wayne Bridge at Eastlands.

But once Hughes feels he has added enough depth to his relegation-threatened squad, he will be given the green light to chase any of the four fantasy-footballers on City's shortlist.

The North West club have been linked with Kaka ever since their mega-money takeover at the end of last summer - and the subsequent £32 million purchase of Robinho from Real Madrid. Indeed, at point it seemed the AC Milan playmaker might be open to the possibility of joining his fellow Brazilian in Manchester, but he wasted little time quashing those rumours.

John Terry is another name that cropped in early September, and perhaps the link makes more sense now than it did then. Hughes' troops have been woefully inconsistent at the back, a problem the England captain's arrival could go along way towards fixing. However, the likely of him leaving Chelsea is... well, it's not going to happen, to put it bluntly. He's challenging for the Premier League title and already getting paid bucketloads - why would he move?

Similarly, Lionel Messi has no reason to ditch high-flying Barcelona for a side who were recently humiliated by Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup. The diminutive Argentine is arguably the world's most exciting player, currently starring for arguably the world's most exciting team. Another no-go, it would seem.

And then there is David Villa. The Valencia striker has been persistently linked with City over the past few weeks, and it was even reported last month that the clubs had opened negotiations. But the latest reports from Spain suggest the EURO 2008 winner will not be leaving the Mestalla this winter, even though the cash-strapped La Liga outfit could really use the sizeable transfer fee that would come with Villa's sale.

So will any of these four make their way to the City of Manchester Stadium by the beginning of February? Only time will tell, but on the surface it seems an exercise in futility for Sparky and the Sheikh.

Mike Maguire, Goal.com