The left-back impressed for the Blues during his 14 games for the side in the latter part of last season. His initial deal was a six-month contract that expired at the end of June, but the former PSV, Rangers and Everton man explained that despite offers from elsewhere, he always hoped that he could tie up a permanent move to the City of Manchester Stadium.
Michael says: “The summer was a bit of an odd one for me and I had a few offers on the table. Sven told me to come in for a few days when training started again, just to see what level I was up to and obviously he was happy with me. He gave the go-ahead for the contract and I’m pleased that that’s all behind me now, I can look forward to the season ahead. There’s going to be new faces coming in, competition for places and it’s going to be a good challenge for us.
“I was always waiting for City, they gave me the chance to come back into the Premier League and I was holding out for them to make me an offer, so when they did it was an easy decision.
“As soon as you put pen to paper you just want to focus on your training and then the games when they start. We’re looking to work hard in Sweden this week, get a couple more games under our belts and work on tactics. Hopefully we’ll come back fitter and stronger as well ahead of some big games when the season starts.”
Michael’s new boss gave him his solitary England cap back in 2001 and the 27-year-old is clearly enjoying working for him again as he looks at how the first few days of training have gone.
“Training with Sven, Tord and Hans has been really enjoyable, they have let us get on with our own game and enjoy it but have pointed us in the right direction of what they want from us. There was some good movement from Stevie Ireland and the strikers on Saturday, and I think the score line showed we were on top.”
