England v Italy: Will Inter Star Maicon Move To Manchester City, Or Will They Be Put Off By His Drinking?

When Inter do battle with Chelsea tomorrow night, the eyes of the world will be transfixed on the toe-to-toe between the league leaders in Italy and England. But beyond that, there will also be many a potential employer looking out for their next big purchase. And in no case is that more true than Manchester City’s apparent interest in Inter right back Douglas Maicon.

Since his switch from Monaco to the San Siro in 2006, Maicon has become one of the most sought after players in Europe, and this summer looks set to bring the moment of truth in the Citizens’ quest for his signature. Given that he will turn 29 in July, the megabucks side will be looking to judge the potential investment carefully, rather than immediately bow to whatever financial demands Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti makes. There is a balance to be struck, clearly.

So what could Maicon bring to the Premier League? Well, as proven by the alleged interest shown by Manchester United and, more briefly, Real Madrid earlier in the season, he is a player of recognised quality. Standing at over six feet tall and with a huge galloping stride, he’s an intimidating prospect whether you’re trying to get beyond him or keep him out. A good header of the ball, his reading of the play in a defensive sense is generally excellent, and one might arguably put this down as his one great advantage over Barcelona’s Dani Alves in the fight for Brazil’s No. 2 shirt at this summer’s World Cup.

Maicon has shone in many memorable games during his four seasons in blue and black. This season alone he was majestic in Inter’s 4-0 derby victory over Milan in August and was one of the key protagonists behind their 5-0 cruise away to Genoa, a rout which was capped off by the Cruzeiro product popping up in a centre-forward position to fire home his side’s fifth.

But there have also been some questions asked of Maicon, and not just this season. He was one of the men involved in the infamous after-match brawl in Valencia in 2007, leading to a six-match European ban which was eventually reduced to three games on appeal. And whilst his disciplinary record has improved since then, his attitude has sometimes been questioned. Over the last four or five months, rumours have exploded around the streets of Milan with regard to Maicon’s penchance for a cheeky pint or three. There have been countless sightings of the Brazilian drinking in one or another of the city’s more famous nightspots, with Adriano’s old hangout Discoteca Hollywood allegedly among his favourite late-night venues.

Although talk of a multi-millionaire footballer enjoying a few expensive glasses of Peroni would normally be treated as a side issue, it would seem that his game may well have become affected in recent times. His ability to bomb forward hasn’t been overly impinged, but he does appear to be taking that little bit longer to regain his position these days. In Inter’s first home match after the winter break against Siena last month, Maicon turned in possibly his worst performance for the club, looking a long way off the pace when attacked by the twin threat of Jajalo and Albin Ekdal. His turn-outs haven’t been quite so poor since then, but he certainly hasn’t hit the heights of last season either.

Inter may well see the summer as a good time to sell, especially if it’s City and their bank manager who come knocking. Taking everything into consideration, they’ll see a fee of around €20 million as being too good to turn down. But, conversely, will Manchester City still buy him, despite his age and his lack of true match sharpness of late – not to mention his drinking trends?

They may well do. Not just because they can afford the gamble of forking out around €20m on a player who may or may not have seen his best days already (if they can do it with Kolo Toure, they can do it with Maicon), but also because if anyone is worth a punt, the Brazilian is. There is also the fact that his style of play, when carried out well, would suit a Premier League side - particularly a side who attack with width and flair like City try to - down to the ground. Given those factors, they’ll take any potential extra-curricular problems with a pinch of salt, whilst stressing to the player the importance of focusing on the job in hand.

So if Roberto Mancini has representatives in the San Siro stands once again on Wednesday night and Maicon turns in a top performance, they may well give the final nod to their bosses for a move to be made this summer.