the best is yet to come with Wayne Bridge

Not to be discouraged by the FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest that he watched, Wayne Bridge believes the best of his days are to come:

“I’d like to think so, but obviously and most importantly I want to show the fans here and everyone around that I can do well at Manchester City first.

“I’d like to think I’m coming into my prime but I like to keep myself fit anyway and I’ve got a good engine and a good left foot so I’ll be looking forward to showing that on the pitch.”

The arrival of Wayne Bridge from Chelsea unites him with Manager Mark Hughes as they played together at Southampton from 1998 to 2000. Sparky acknowledged the addition of his ex-teammate:

“Wayne’s a quality player and has been for many years.

“He’s an international and knows the Premier League and what it takes to win Premier League games and how hard it is to pick up points.

“He’ll be a great addition for us. We were made aware that we could bring him in and I thought it was a priority that we made sure we brought him to the Club.”

The new man added:

“Obviously I’ve played with the Manager before when he was at Southampton and I know him quite well.

“When I spoke to him everything he said was positive and that’s good to hear. He was positive about me as well and that’s nice it gives me confidence so hopefully I’ll be showing that on the pitch.

“I’m very impressed with the vision of the Club and where it wants to go. Obviously it’s going to take time but we’re going to progress and keep doing so until we achieve big things.

“There are some quality players here already and I’m looking forward to playing alongside them. There’s a lot of talk of bringing more players in so I’m looking forward to that too.”

Wayne Bridge deal nearing complete

Mark Hughes has confirmed that the deal to bring Wayne Bridge to Manchester City from Chelsea is nearing completion as the clubs have agreed on the transfer price, rumoured to be £12m. Speaking at the pre-Nottingham Forest FA Cup press conference, Mr. Hughes said:

“We need to speak to the boy and try to agree personal terms.

“If we can do that hopefully Wayne will be a Manchester City player, that’s the aim.

“Wayne will probably travel to Manchester this evening and hopefully negotiations will go well and he can have a medical tomorrow.”

Man City is expected to continue is blitz on talent as they look to close down the deal with Blackburn for Roque Santa Cruz within the next forty-eight hours.

Wayne Bridge deal now final

Manchester City formally announced the deal to bring English international Wayne Bridge from Chelsea. Although terms have not been discussed it is rumoured to be in the £10m range.

Of the signing Mark Hughes said via the club web-site:

“Wayne’s a player I know I played alongside him at Southampton and I saw him come through the ranks. He was an outstanding young player and he’s progressed year on year in his career.

“He’s a successful player. He’s an England international and has just played for one of the top four sides in the country.

“He’s of the right quality and he’s the type of player we need to attract. We need good players that understand this league and we’ll look to carry on in that way and add more if we can.”

Of coming over to the Citizens, the twenty-eight year old defender said:

“I’m just excited to be here and when I spoke to the Manager yesterday he told me of the exciting times ahead at the Club.

“It’s an exciting time to be at the Club with what’s happening here and I’m looking forward to putting the shirt on regularly and getting out there to show everyone what I can do.

“I’m just looking forward to getting out and playing some regular football.

“I haven’t played that much, so I’m aiming to play on a regular basis, get my fitness up to scratch and hopefully help the team climb the table and achieve big things.”

Wayne Bridge could be the first

As the Footballing world gets ready for Mark Hughes’ shopping spree, reputedly in the £60m range, most believe one of the first men on the wish-list is Chelsea’s Wayne Bridge. The veteran left-back, capped thirty two times for England, would provide the club the stalwart read-guard that has been missing. Along with Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz the club will move fast and try to bring in each well before the upcoming match against Portsmouth on January 10. Should efforts to lure Wayne Bridge to Man City with a £10m offer be scorned, Mark Hughes is rumoured to very interested in Bayern München’s Philipp Lahm.