Mancini: Cavani was my top target

We've been linked to the uber-talented Uruguayan for a while now, but there's a league rival that's supposedly been interested longer than, and possible long before, we were.

Manchester City were reported to be in reckoning to sign Cavani as far back as roughly a season and a half ago, and while at the time it was dismissed since City were being linked frenziedly to pretty much every striker in form then (they ended up signing Dzeko), it turns out there might've been a hint of truth to it after all.

Mancini recently spoke to Corriere Dello Sport, revealing his plans for the upcoming summer before he was rudely given the boot.

"When I was at City, I made Cavani as our absolute top target for this summer transfer window."

Long story short, we all know what happened, and fortunately for us, the new guy wasn't nearly as keen as the outgoing Italian. That, alongwith the early signing of Jesus Navas and the incommensurately huge deal Shakhtar forced City into for Fernandinho probably caused them to run through the bulk of their summer budget pretty fast. (thanks Shakhtar!)

Looking at the hue and cry Mancini made about City's sluggish entry into the market last season, and noting how they, in rectification, have moved swiftly for targets this time around, it's probably not unreasonable to assume City would've bolted for Cavani's signature as soon as the season ended. If you consider(ed) that a genuine possibility, in hindsight, it's probably a good thing Mancini wasn't in the hotseat when the summer started.

Cavani though, is still on the market, we're still within a decent shout of getting him, and by the looks of it, might have a rather unusual turn of events to thank for our current situation. Phew!