Goal.com

The former Middlesbrough winger is surplus to requirements at Etihad Stadium, with the Premier League champions having already agreed terms with the Swansea star

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent

Manchester City are ready to sell Adam Johnson after agreeing terms with Swansea winger Scott Sinclair.

Roberto Mancini is willing to sanction the departure of the England international after growing frustrated in Johnson’s ability to realise his potential.

The City manager has now turned to Sinclair to fill the role of winger and impact player at Etihad Stadium.

WHERE COULD JOHNSON GO NEXT?
LIVERPOOL
	Why? Long-term admirers of Johnson and looking for width in the transfer market having sold Kuyt and Maxi, with Bellamy also linked with an exit this summer.
TOTTENHAM
	Why? Short of wide options beind Bale and Lennon. A club on the rise that could better suit Johnson in his development, as would chance to work under AVB.
NEWCASTLE
	Why? Have tracked Johnson for a long time. Winger could suit Alan Pardew, who is looking to build a young, exciting squad without paying big bucks on transfer fees.
SUNDERLAND
	Why? Keen on luring Johnson back to the North East and would be able to guarantee him first-team football and key player status. Wages are a possible stumbling block.

As revealed by Goal.com last month, the 23-year-old does not want to sign a new contract at the Liberty Stadium and will be allowed to leave by the club this summer.

Talks over a new deal for the winger, whose current deal expires in 11 months, began last December but stalled following the departure of his mentor Brendan Rodgers to Liverpool.

It is understood that Manchester City have not yet made a bid for £5 million-rated Sinclair but have agreed terms with the player following his return from the Olympics, where he represented Great Britain.

Fulham and Aston Villa have been leading the clubs chasing Sinclair but the England Under-21 international has been swung by the interest from the Premier League champions.

Johnson only signed a contract extension with City last November, tying him to the club until 2015, but he has fallen out of favour with Mancini.

The former Middlesbrough man has been linked with Tottenham, Newcastle and Sunderland this summer, while Liverpool are also thought to be in the market for a winger following the departures of Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez.

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins has spoken of his desire to sort out Sinclair’s future and has explained that the winger will not be allowed to run down his contract and leave for nothing.

“At this level of football and with the transfer money which could come in with players leaving in the final year of their contract, we wouldn’t want to go down that route again of allowing a player to let his contract run out again,” Jenkins said.

“With Scott being a first-team regular we need a decision one way or the other as soon as possible so the manager can be clear in his mind on where the team goes and make sure the squad is right for August.”

The £1.5m signing from Chelsea scored seven league goals for the Welsh club last season and was a key figure in their successful debut Premier League campaign.

Sinclair’s career had stalled at Stamford Bridge, which had included loan spells at six different clubs, and it was not until his move to the Liberty Stadium in the summer of 2010 that he began to fulfil the promise that persuaded Chelsea to sign him when he was 16.

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