Anticipation over the first sighting of City’s new striker is rising, and the Manager was inevitably quizzed on the subject at the press conference after the comfortable 3-0 win over the Airtricity Irish XI on Saturday afternoon.
“We will train on Saturday evening, then decide about that on Sunday morning. Maybe!” he replied enigmatically. He was also asked about whether there he expected any problems with Mario Balotelli facing his previous club in the closing game of the Dublin Super Cup.
“I don’t think there will be a problem with Mario, but with him, you never know! It’s important that he plays because it’s the last game before the Community Shield. Inter will be tough.”
The side that started the tournament’s curtain-raiser had a youthful look to it, with Mancini wanting to get some match-time into as many players as possible.
Scapuzzi, Rekik and Suarez are all very young but it’s important that they start to play for the first team when they can.
He also praised goal scorer Shaun Wright-Phillips but admitted the fan favourite has a difficult task on his hands with so many players jostling for his attentions.
“He was born in Manchester City, he is an important player for Manchester City. For me, it’s difficult to put him on the bench.
“A player like Shaun deserves to play every game because he’s a strong player. But now, we have so many players it’s not easy for him.
“I need to speak with him in the next days. It’s difficult because Shaun is a good guy.”
