Man City hopeful of Bellamy deal

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Man City hopeful of Bellamy deal

Jan 15, 2009

Manchester City are still hopeful of signing Craig Bellamy despite having a third bid for the Wales striker turned down by West Ham United.

The Hammers turned down an improved £9m offer for the 29-year-old on Monday but City made a higher bid on Wednesday.

Manager Mark Hughes is keen to bring Bellamy and Scott Parker to Eastlands but has so far failed to land either.

"We are still very hopeful that something can happen," Manchester City assistant manager Mark Bowen said.

West Ham, whose owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson may sell the club, insist they do not want to offload players and are under no pressure to do so.

Wales captain Bellamy played under Bowen and Hughes during his time as Wales and Blackburn Rovers manager.

"Our third bid has been turned down but we will see what develops from there," Bowen told BBC Sport.

"Of course we're interested in Craig Bellamy, he is a player we very much admire and we are hopeful we can bring him to Manchester City.

"We've known Craig for many years, and had him at Blackburn Rovers, and we know what he brings to any team he plays for.

"It does make me smile as I think he is one of those players who you either love or hate.

"But fans of teams that he has played for love him and know what he gave for their team."

Often a controversial figure, Bellamy has helped lead 10th-placed West Ham back up the Premier League table in recent weeks after they had initially struggled as Gianfranco Zola settled in at the club after joining as its new manager in September.

And speaking after Saturday's 2-2 draw at Newcastle, in which Bellamy scored his sixth goal of the season, Zola said: "If you see the way he plays all over the pitch, it is fantastic.

"It is an example of professionalism and he is performing very well."

The Italian added: "It is not true that we want to sell our best players. We want to improve so we are hopeful we can do this."

The former Liverpool, Blackburn, Newcastle, Coventry and Norwich forward has made 54 appearances for his country scoring 16 goals.

City, who signed left-back Wayne Bridge from Chelsea for around £10m when the January transfer window opened, have also had a £12m bid for Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz rejected.

Source: BBC

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