Manchester City are hopeful of signing transfer targets Mario Balotelli and James Milner before the start of the Premier League season. "We are close with both players but now they are going with their national teams," said City boss Roberto Mancini. "We hope that we can have these players by next Thursday. "For now we have two days off and we are not going to talk about the market. Next week we will see. These deals could happen but we need to wait." Inter Milan forward Balotelli has been called up to the Italy squad for the first time for this week's friendly with Ivory Coast, while Milner was recalled by England for the game against Hungary.
