Ireland will be future Blues captain, says Hughes

MARK HUGHES has tipped Stephen Ireland as a future Manchester City skipper and defended club chief executive Garry Cook’s role in the transfer of Richard Dunne.

Hughes confirmed he had handed Kolo Toure the captain’s armband in the wake of Richard Dunne’s move to Aston Villa.

Toure did the job at Crystal Palace and Portsmouth immediately before the international break and has emerged from a clutch of alternative candidates, including Gareth Barry, Shay Given, Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong.