Could Robinho be on his way to Germany?

The Blues’ mercurial forward is this morning being linked with a move to Schalke 04, with the Bundesliga outfit planning to link the Brazilian with former Real Madrid legend Raul – at least, that’s the belief of Alan Nixon in the Daily Mirror.

“Schalke have made a surprise inquiry for Robinho and have hinted they may be willing to pay as much as £18m,” writes Nixon, who also adds the Blues could use any cash from such a deal to finance a move for Benfica’s David Luiz.

Meanwhile, Simon Cass in the Daily Mail reckons City will try and offer Shay Given a new deal that will keep him at the club until he is 39. With Given starting as sub at Tottenham at the weekend, speculation has been rife about the future of Ireland’s No.1.

“City will try and entice the former Newcastle keeper to stay by extending his current deal – it has three years left to run – by another two seasons,” writes Cass.

Perhaps Kevin McCarra’s piece in The Guardian is today’s best read. McCarra points out that Harry Redknapp broke the usually cosy manager code of ‘thou shalt not undermine a fellow boss’ by claiming Roberto Mancini was going to find it impossible to keep all his players happy this season.

“There was more than just wishful thinking in Redknapp’s suggestion City will end the campaign outside the top four,” he writes. “He felt free to plunge into the speculation about the challenge awaiting his opposite number.”

He adds: “Redknapp could be vindicated, but his readiness to address such issues and comment on the internal affairs of another club is at least a departure from managerial conventions.”

Well worth a read.