Manchester City's Roberto Mancini says he will continue to track Fiorentina winger Alessio Cerci. The City boss has heavily linked with the 24-year old in the past but saw him join the Viola from AS Roma last summer.
Mancini admits he is a big fan of Cerci, who has represented Italy at all junior levels, and says he will continue to monitor him with the view of one day working together.
"I have followed him since the 2007/08 season when he was on loan at Pisa from Roma, " Mancini told Corriere dello Sport.
"Cerci had just turned 20 but he immediately struck me as an extraordinary talent. He is one of only a few players in the world who can win a game by himself, one that can solve everything.
"I hoped to bring him to the Premier League when I took the City job but I saw that Fiorentina and my friend Sinisa Mihajlovic were interested and I stepped back.
"It was right that he went there, a good club that has contributed to his development.
"We tried again this summer because I believed he could make a decisive contribution at City. I thought we were getting close, but Fiorentina took him off the market.
"I will continue to follow him. Maybe in the future we will work together."
