Mancini puts talk of Vieira switch on hold

Vieira has been strongly linked with a return to the Premier League (GETTY IMAGES)

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini wants all talk of new signings put on the back-burner until after Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final showdown with Manchester United.

It has been suggested that former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira will be re-united with Mancini in the next few days after agreeing a loan move from Inter Milan.

Although Vieira is no longer the force of old, he would add some extra toughness to the City midfield as well as being a familiar face for Mancini to work with as he tries to turn the Blues into a top-four outfit.

There certainly appears to be little future for Vieira at Inter, where he has failed to impress Jose Mourinho.

Yet, although Mancini accepts City are now a major worldwide attraction, he does not want anything getting in the way of preparations for United's visit.

"All the players want to join Manchester City," he said.

"That is normal with a big club who is going to have a big future.

"People are not only talking about Patrick Vieira, they are also saying Ivan Cordoba and Cristian Chivu (who are also at Inter Milan).

"They are all good players but the most important thing for me is the match against Manchester United.

"The other things we can talk about with the club after the derby. We will see then."

Meanwhile, Mancini has confirmed record signing Robinho and defender Micah Richards should be available for the midweek encounter, while Shaun Wright-Phillips is still struggling to overcome an injury that has prevented him from figuring at all under the new manager.

Roque Santa Cruz is also a major doubt with a knee injury, while Nedum Onuoha definitely misses out with calf strain.

It means 19-year-old Congo-born Belgian Dedryck Boyata is set to keep his place after impressing on his debut during the FA Cup third round win at Middlesbrough on Saturday.