Mancini coy on Toure links

As speculation of an audacious bid for Manchester City’s Yaya Toure mounts, Inter coach Roberto Mancini refuses to be drawn on the issue.

Roberto Mancini was coy when quizzed on reports linking Inter with a close-season swoop for Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure.

Speculation in the Italian media has suggested that Mancini is keen on a reunion with the Ivory Coast captain, who he brought to the Etihad Stadium during his time as City manager.

Toure’s future with the Premier League champions was called into question earlier this month when he hinted he would consider his future at City in an interview with CNN.

Mancini, who has been reshaping Inter’s squad since returning to San Siro in November, hailed Toure as one of the world’s best footballers, but would not be drawn on whether he is a target.

“I rate Yaya Toure as one of the best players in the world,” he said. “But he belongs to Manchester City.

“It’s a difficult issue now, but we’ll see in the future.”

Mancini, though, is in no doubt that Inter do have the ability to lure players of Toure’s quality to Milan.

“Inter have lots of appeal, more than other clubs at the top,” he added. “There’s a long history going back 100 years.”

Inter visit Torino in Serie A on Sunday, with Mancini confirming that forward Xherdan Shaqiri is still unlikely to complete a full 90 minutes, while centre-back Andrea Ranocchia could return to the squad following a knee injury.