Wright-Phillips misses friendly

Shaun Wright-Phillips has fuelled rumours of an impending departure to Chelsea by pulling out of Manchester City’s friendly at Macclesfield this afternoon.

The England winger, subject of a £20m (€29.1m) bid from the Stamford Bridge outfit which was rejected within an hour of it being lodged yesterday evening, arived at Moss Rose with the rest of the Blues squad, but then complained of feeling unwell and was driven home by a City official.

Wright-Phillips, who played the final 45 minutes of last night’s defeat at Tranmere, had shown no sign of illness as he signed autographs on his way into the stadium and strolled onto the pitch with the rest of his team-mates as normal an hour before kick-off.

But, after around 10 minutes, manager Stuart Pearce walked up to him, put an arm around his waist and the pair ambled off the pitch together.

A City spokesman denied Chelsea have submitted an increased offer.

However, with City due to depart for Thailand tomorrow to compete in the FA Premier League Asia Trophy and Chelsea heading to the United States on Tuesday for their own lucrative pre-season tour, it would be no surprise if Jose Mourinho did make a fresh move.

City chairman John Wardle has previously indicated it would take a minimum of £23m (€33.5m) for the Eastlands outfit to consider selling their prize asset.

However, with debts of £62m (€90.3m) and no cash available for Pearce to rebuild his squad, the pressure to sell would be huge.