Robinho must fight for place

Robinho will have to fight for his first–team place at Manchester City when he eventually does return to action.

The £32.5million striker has been sidelined by an ankle injury since the beginning of September and, in his absence, Craig Bellamy has struck a rich vein of form.

It is little surprise, therefore, that Robinho has been linked with a January move to Barcelona, just 18 months after his British record arrival at Eastlands.

However, City assistant–boss Mark Bowen is confident Robinho will remain with the ambitious Premier League outfit, even if he cannot be guaranteed a place in Mark Hughes’ starting line–up.

“Robi is one of those players who will always be surrounded by rumour and speculation,” Bowen told www.mcfc.co.uk

“It doesn’t concern him – he comes in and always does his work with a smile on his face. He’s a great guy and very much a part of the manager’s plans.

“But Robi is no different from any other player in the squad in that he will be fighting for a place when he regains his fitness.

“Things can change so quickly though – a week is a long time in this game. An injury or two and you’re back in the side, and then it’s up to you to make sure that you stay there.”

DAVID BECKHAM is confident he will seal another loan move to AC Milan by the start of the New Year – and bolster his hopes of being part of England's 2010 World Cup squad.
Beckham was voted man of the match despite only appearing as a second–half substitute for the 3–0 win over Belarus in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

But Fabio Capello has made it clear the former Manchester United star has to play at a high level of club football to have a realistic chance of being on the plane to South Africa.

Beckham said: "The Milan deal is almost done and hopefully that will be sorted out in the next month and I'll probably be going there at the end of December. The manager (Capello) knows what is going on and he knows what he wants with other players not just me."