Put your hand in your pocket to sign Yaya Toure!' - Mancini makes Inter plea
The
coach believes that the Cote d'Ivoire international would not only be a
great signing for the Nerazzurri but also the whole of Serie A
Inter boss Roberto Mancini has pleaded with the club to splash cash to lure Manchester City ace Yaya Toure to San Siro.
Mancini brought the Cote d'Ivoire international to the Etihad Stadium from Barcelona during his time in charge of the English outfit and the pair won an FA Cup and Premier League title together before the Italian was fired in 2013.
Yaya still has two years to run on his current contract with Man City but has been heavily linked with a move away from England at the end of the season, and Mancini is keen on a San Siro reunion with the midfielder.
"Yaya Toure? Piero Ausilio [Inter's sporting director] - put your hand in your pocket!" he laughed during an interview with Sky Sport24. "I had Yaya at Manchester City and I think he is one of the best players in the world.
"It's not easy, though, because he's at Manchester City, so it's up to him and whether he wants to come and play in Italy, after playing in the other major European leagues.
"He'd be a big signing not just for Inter but also for the Italian league's prestige as a whole.
"Inter have more appeal than many teams, though, so we’ll see what happens in the future, but he belongs to Manchester City at the moment."
Mancini brought the Cote d'Ivoire international to the Etihad Stadium from Barcelona during his time in charge of the English outfit and the pair won an FA Cup and Premier League title together before the Italian was fired in 2013.
Yaya still has two years to run on his current contract with Man City but has been heavily linked with a move away from England at the end of the season, and Mancini is keen on a San Siro reunion with the midfielder.
"Yaya Toure? Piero Ausilio [Inter's sporting director] - put your hand in your pocket!" he laughed during an interview with Sky Sport24. "I had Yaya at Manchester City and I think he is one of the best players in the world.
"It's not easy, though, because he's at Manchester City, so it's up to him and whether he wants to come and play in Italy, after playing in the other major European leagues.
"He'd be a big signing not just for Inter but also for the Italian league's prestige as a whole.
"Inter have more appeal than many teams, though, so we’ll see what happens in the future, but he belongs to Manchester City at the moment."
Mancini added
that, whether Yaya arrives at the Giuseppe Meazza or not, his goal is to
get this midtable Inter squad playing like his old Man City side within
12 months.
"In all my years I've never come across so many good players willing to follow my orders to a tee," he added. "The players are giving their all, but obviously returning to the top requires a little time.
"But I remember what we did at City with great players. We had a team that was fighting for survival. I hope that inside a year Inter can play like my City. That must be the objective."
Inter are 10th in Serie A ahead of Sunday's trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta.
"In all my years I've never come across so many good players willing to follow my orders to a tee," he added. "The players are giving their all, but obviously returning to the top requires a little time.
"But I remember what we did at City with great players. We had a team that was fighting for survival. I hope that inside a year Inter can play like my City. That must be the objective."
Inter are 10th in Serie A ahead of Sunday's trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta.
