Roberto Mancini broke the unwritten convention of talking about another club's player when he said he would like Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero to sign for Manchester City if his Argentina team-mate Carlos Tevez leaves the club.
Most managers usually adopt a coy attitude and tiptoe around naming players they would like to sign but Mancini, showing some refreshing honesty, also said he would like to sign Samir Nasri from Arsenal before the end of July.
Aguero, 23, has been the subject of widespread speculation that he will move to England this summer, with Chelsea also reportedly showing an interest, while Tevez has made no secret of wanting to leave City, saying he would like to return to South America to be closer to his children.
In an interview with Sky Sports News, Mancini said: "Aguero is a player that can play for Manchester City because he is young and he is a good player like Carlos.
"He can score a lot of goals and can play with Mario (Balotelli), with Edin (Dzeko)... it could be that he joins."
Aguero has also been linked with a move to Atletico's city rivals Real Madrid, as well as Juventus.
Mancini was also candid about signing Nasri from Arsenal.
Nasri has one year left on his contract with the London side, although Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said he wants to keep him even if he does not renew his deal, and would allow him to leave for nothing next year.
Mancini told Sky: "Samir is under contract with Arsenal. Also for Samir it depends on many things."
Asked if City had made a bid for the 24-year-old Frenchman, Mancini said: "I don't know... but for Nasri it is difficult.
"I hope that we can buy because we need other players, and I hope that this player can arrive before the end of the month."
Mancini also said he respected Tevez's decision to want to leave City for family and personal reasons.
Mancini said: "When you talk about a player like Carlos it's difficult because Carlos is a fantastic player, a good guy for me.
"Every time I spoke to Carlos he never said to me 'I want to leave', he said he is missing his daughters, his family
"I am very sorry if Carlos wants to leave because for me he is a good man and he's a fantastic player, but I respect his decision."
Corinthians of Brazil have bid around 40.0 million pounds ($64.47 million) for Tevez, according to Brazilian media reports.
($1 = 0.620 British Pounds)
