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Manchester City defender Maicon is Roma bound
MANCHESTER CITY defender Maicon appears poised to leave the Etihad and join Roma.
The 31-year-old Brazilian was largely under-used last season by Roberto Mancini as he made just 13 appearances in all competitions.
Roma have been on Maicon's trail, as they are planning to strengthen their defence and City are intent on a major overhaul of their squad.
Originally, Maicon was set to be included in a part-exchange deal for Pablo Osvaldo, and now it seems they are on the verge of a deal.
Reports surfacing on the continent suggest Roma are going to land Maicon in a cut-price deal (£4.3m).
The right back is thought to have landed in Rome at 7am this morning ahead of a medical before linking up with his new team-mates this morning.
Maicon's proposed departure was clearly explained by Manuel Pellegrini, who said: "Maicon didn't come here to the pre-season and he will not be in the squad at Manchester City this year."
Pellegrini is also in the market for a striker and is on the verge of striking a deal for Alvaro Negredo.
"It's difficult to say exactly which day but before the end of the month we will have a new attacker," Pellegrini added.
Meanwhile, Micah Richards' future remains unresolved even though he was supposed to hold talks over a new deal at the Etihad.
The 24-year-old right back has been linked in recent weeks with a move to Inter Milan.
This follows speculation that Manchester United are involved in a transfer tussle to land Inter defender Andrea Ranocchia.
City's next pre-season friendly on their tour of South Africa is against AmaZulu.