Toure departure imminent?

There were intense rumours linking Kolo Toure with a move out of the Etihad Stadium for the whole summer but following the end of the recent transfer window, some City fans had thought that Roberto Mancini had experienced a change in heart about the player’s future. However, it now looks as though this certainly is not the case, with Toure being excluded from City’s official squad that has been submitted to UEFA for the Champions League group stages.

It was widely assumed that Toure would exit City before the end of the transfer window, with the Ivory Coast international holding discussions with Turkish giants Galatasaray over the last few months. Toure, Mancini and Galatasaray have made no secret about this potential deal, although there have always been question marks on whether or not the Istanbul outfit would be able to compete for the player’s wages.

Nevertheless, there is still a chance that Toure could complete a move away very soon. Even though the English transfer window closed last week, Turkey’s is open until Wednesday and this means that a deal still has time to go through. There are reports suggesting that Galatasaray are still interested in the player, meaning that it certainly wouldn’t be too surprising if this did occur. However, there’s no doubt that Torre would have to significantly lower his wage demands to push through a deal, as he is believed to be one of the top earners at the Etihad Stadium following his switch from Arsenal in 2009.

Even though Toure has been left out of the Champions League squad, Mancini did include him for the recent 25-man Premier League squad. The reason behind his omission for the former could be to simply make him more appealing for any other club playing in the Champions League, as he will now not be ineligible for the European competition.

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