Manuel Pellegrini is confident Manchester City will keep hold of Yaya Toure, who has once again been linked with a move to Paris St Germain.
The Ivory Coast international has been a key member of the Blues starting eleven since his arrival in 2010, playing a pivotal role in their two Premier League title successes, FA Cup glory and League Cup win. However, he has failed to find anything like his best form this term, which follows a summer in which he was widely expected to leave the Etihad Stadium club.
Paris St Germain were linked with the 31-year-old ahead of the current season, and after his red card in the 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to CSKA Moscow in midweek, they are said to be lining up an offer for his signature in January. But City boss Pellegrini is confident of keeping Toure in his plans, and believes nobody at the club is considering selling the midfielder.
“There must be a lot of reports telling the story that Yaya will be sold,” he said. “Maybe it is all the other teams that want Manchester City to be a weaker team. Yaya is a very important player. He played very well in the first half against CSKA – he scored a goal. In the second half he made a mistake and he was sent off but – never in my mind – I am sure nobody at the club is talking about selling Yaya.”
Toure is likely to be in action again this weekend, when the champions travel south to take on Queens Park Rangers. This is a match Pellegrini’s side will be expected to win comfortably against a newly-promoted team who are currently second-bottom in the standings, and certainly one they will need to collect maximum points from if they are to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea.
