Manchester City: 5 Players the Blues Need to Offload This Summer

Man City's current squad is one of supreme talent.

They do, however, have a multitude of players lurking in the shadows, eating up large chunks of the wage budget and offering very little in return.

Mancini will certainly recognise this and look to offload these burdens (should he still be at the Etihad for next season).

Here are five squad members that need to be on their way during this summer transfer window.

Santa Cruz signed for an astonishing £17.5 million from Blackburn in 2009 by Mark Hughes.

Since Mancini took over in December of '09 however, Santa Cruz has had little chances and found himself on the fringes of the first team.

After being shipped out on loan back to Rovers for the second half of last season, he has been at Betis for the whole of this campaign, and the times has come for City to offload the Paraguayan striker.

The English full-back was another of Mark Hughes expensive flops, at £10 million.

Bridge played for Chelsea for six years between 2003 and 2009, but never really established himself as a first-team regular after his opening season.

Like Santa Cruz, he's failed to impress Mancini and after being loaned out to West Ham last season and is now with Sunderland.

Summer has to spell the end of Bridge's time at City.

The lanky Montenegrin centre-half signed in the summer, but has failed to impress.

He is a promising talent though and, being only 21, he could grow into an important player for City if he gains a little composure and experience.

A loan move to a decent European side where he'll get regular first-team football could be on the cards, and is something Mancini would be keen on.

Johnson is a product of the City youth system, having joined their setup from Everton at the age of 16.

He now finds himself at Leicester City in the Championship, and will be unlikely to ever break into the first team at the Etihad.

For his own benefit and career progression, he needs to move on in the summer and find a club willing to give him a first-team slot.

The petulant Argentinian only recently returned to Manchester, after a self-enforced hiatus back in his homeland.

A move to Milan seemed likely in January, but it fell through and Mancini will be eager to offload him asap.

Undoubtedly a trouble maker in the dressing room, City may have to lower their asking price if any club will be capable of completing a permanent transfer.