Mancini concedes defeat in Torres pursuit

(GSM) – Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has admitted that City’s chances to land Fernando Torres to Eastlands this summer are quite remote after failure to secure Champions League football.

The Span international has long been linked with a big-money move to Eastlands but their failed bid to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season has hampered any chances of a possible deal.

North London side Tottenham Hotspur trounced City at their own backyard to ensure they will be rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite next term, unless they lose in the qualifying round of the competition.

City will be playing in the Europa League instead, as will Liverpool, and Mancini believes it will harm their chances of signing top players.

“Can we attract the top, top players, like Torres? I don’t know, but I don’t think so,” he said in The Sun.

“If we finished in the top four, it would be better and easier to attract them.

“In this situation it is different. There are probably some players who want to play in the Champions League and not in the Europa League.

“But there are a lot of players in Europe who will want to play for Manchester City next year.

“We won’t be playing in the Champions League but we must try to win the other competitions and finish in the top four in the Premier League.”