At least some of the media talk this morning does not concern Mario Balotelli – though inevitably a proportion of it does!

By way of a refreshing change – though there is hardly anything new to report at the moment – let us jump on the transfer merry-go-round with Ian Herbert of the Independent.

A regular Blues watcher, Herbert reckons that Lille’s star Belgian winger Eden Hazard, Europe’s most wanted, is heading for City. But he points out that the Blues or any of the many other suitors would be buying a bit of joker as well as a talented player.

The English tabloids are outshone this morning by the broadsheets in terms of City column inches and those in the Guardian centre on David Silva who is said by reporter Jamie Jackson to have lost his form in January when his ‘exhibition went into cold storage’.

In the Telegraph, meanwhile, former Arsenal centre forward Alan Smith poses the question ‘is it time for Roberto Mancini to set free Carlos Tevez to rescue Manchester City’s faltering title challenge?’

The inevitable Balotelli piece comes in the Times from Oliver Kay though at least it is a thoughtful one not aimed at stoking the hyperbole around the Italian striker. You will need to pay to read it online though.

Also in the Times is a piece from James Ducker suggesting that Mike Rigg, the man who runs the club scouting network, maybe tempted by a move to another Premier League club.

And finally, Harry Redknapp’s press conferences rarely fail to produce some noteworthy comments and yesterday he was talking about the possibility of signing Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent basis. The website thisdaylive.com has an account of what was said.