text: The collapse in Roberto Mancini's relationship with Manchester City was rooted in his dismay at the quality of English players signed by the club. When names like Scott Sinclair, Jack Rodwell and to a lesser extent Adam Johnson were signed, he could barely disguise his contempt, feeling none of them would help him take on Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League. 'Ask Marwood,' he would spit out when asked about the club's transfer policy, referring to the club's then-football administrator Brian Marwood who was responsible at the time for buying players. Tottenham defender Danny Rose has been linked with a move to Manchester City . Mancini was sacked in 2013 and nearly two years on, Marwood has a new role at the academy with a Spaniard, Txiki Begiristain, in his old job with the title director of football. And yet the dilemma remains the same: How do City buy enough top English players to fulfil quotas for homegrown players without breaking FPP (financial fair play) regulations again? It won't be easy and could explain why City – who have slumped to fourth in the league – are being linked with less glamorous names like Danny Rose and Aaron Cresswell. Good players certainly, but good enough? Probably not. It's a sobering thought that Rodwell made only seven Premier League starts in two seasons for City after a £12million move from Everton. Sinclair started just twice after signing from Swansea and is currently on loan at Aston Villa. Plenty of things at City have been carefully planned and executed well since the club's owners from Abu Dhabi took over in 2008. (From left) Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain, assistant manager Brian Kidd, manager Manuel Pellegrini and former football administrator Brian Marwood . The Etihad Campus is a glittering monument to football development and helping the community, while two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and Capital One Cup is an excellent trophy haul considering where the club have come from. But one weakness has been in their approach to having enough homegrown players, lagging behind most of their rivals. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger signed Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers and Manchester United bought Wayne Rooney, Phil Jones and Luke Shaw as teenagers. Most spectacularly, Liverpool bought players like Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling and invested in making them better. Spurs have brought through Harry Kane and Ryan Mason from their academy. Only Chelsea face similar issues to City. Homegrown rules are complicated and differ slightly between competitions. Scott Sinclair (left) and Jack Rodwell are two English players who were bought by Manchester City . In the Premier League, you must have eight homegrown players if you fill your squad of 25. Homegrown players can be born overseas as long as they have been at a club's academy three years before the age of 21. If clubs can't find eight, they have to reduce their squad accordingly, as Chelsea have had to this season. Under 21 players can be named in the squad in addition to the 25. City's six Premier League homegrown players are: Joe Hart, Richard Wright, Dedryck Boyata, Gael Clichy, Frank Lampard and James Milner and there lies a major problem for next season. Lampard is definitely off and Milner is out of contract too. Clichy has endured a poor season and City will want a new left-back while Boyata, a Belgian who has been at City since he was 16, is not good enough to win a regular first-team place. The feeling is he was only offered his latest contract because he filled one of the homegrown slots. Ditto, third-choice goalkeeper Wright. Manchester United signed both Wayne Rooney (left) and Luke Shaw as teenagers . The Champions League squads of 25 also require eight players to have been trained in England, but four of those must have come through the ranks at City. Boyata was their only club-trained player named this season. It will be a major problem for the club next season as their one-season punishment (for breaching FFP rules) to name a squad of 21 is lifted and they can name 25 again. These will be issues exercising the minds at the very top of the club. But whichever way they look at it, City have three options which carry a downside: . 1) Spend big on the best English players 2) Find their own from their academy or 3) Buy cheaper English players who might not be good enough. Daniel Sturridge (left) and Jordan Henderson are two players Liverpool bought to boost their English quota . For option one, supply and demand is a problem. There are probably only three England players most people would call good international-class and therefore worthy of a place in the City team should they want to win titles at home and abroad. Hart is already there, Wayne Rooney is at Manchester United and presumably unattainable while Raheem Sterling would be a premium price. 'Can you get Sterling? Maybe if you go to Liverpool with £100million you can,' complained Manuel Pellegrini recently. No wonder City appear ready to open negotiations at £50m. Kean Bryan is one of the young players at Manchester City who is tipped to go on to big things . Midfielder Kean Bryan ticks all the boxes for what Manchester City hope to achieve in the future. A box-to-box midfielder from Manchester, he joined City at the age of 11 and has gone on to be an England youth international at different age levels. Aged 18, he has played for Patrick Vieira's under-21 elite development squad this season, and played five matches in City's run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Youth League, a Champions League equivalent for under-20s. Been compared to Steven Gerrard. The last Mancunian to play regularly for City was Michael Johnson and he had to retire early after injury problems. Of the next generation, £60m has been quoted for Everton's Ross Barkley, a huge price for unproven talent. Harry Kane would be an interesting target as would Everton's Under21 defender John Stones, who might represent the best value-for-money. Jack Wilshere has had injury problems. City's academy cost £200m but so far none has broken into the first-team squad regularly. Marcos Lopes is on loan at Lille and may move there permanently. Karim Rekik has played Champions League football for PSV. City will hope starlets like Jose Pozo, Thierry Ambrose, Mathias Bossaerts, Seko Fofana, Jason Denayer and Kean Bryan will become their homegrown first-teamers of the future, but they are unlikely to make a major contribution next season. Bryan is novel and interesting, he is from Manchester and has been likened to Steven Gerrard. Ross Barkley is one of the most hotly tipped players in England and worth in the region of £60m . The third option is to try and sign any English Premier League player who is available. It might not be the best idea for the players themselves, Johnson said after he was sold to Sunderland that the move to City can turn sour for young players. 'It is a lot different when you don't play. The novelty wears off, definitely,' he said. Rodwell is now at Sunderland too, while Sinclair will make his loan move to Aston Villa permanent provided they stay up. Rose and Cresswell be warned. Making up the numbers at Manchester City doesn't necessarily help the player or club. PREMIER LEAGUE . Eight players in the 25-man squads must be homegrown. A player counts as homegrown if they have spent three years at an English club up to the age of 21. Squads can be supplemented by as many Under 21 players as clubs want. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE . Eight of the 25-man squad must be homegrown, four of whom must be club-trained ie have come through the ranks of the actual club they are playing for. Squads can be supplemented by Under-21 players provided they have been with the club for at least two years. SERIE A . From 2016, squads will be limited to 25 players (not counting Under 21s), four of whom have to have grown up in Italy and four of whom have to be products of their club's academy, similar to Champions League rules. Clubs are not allowed to sign more than two non-EU players in a season. LA LIGA . Clubs are not allowed more than three non-EU players in their squads of 25, or in matches. However, after five years, you can apply for Spanish citizenship and become an EU player, as Lionel Messi has done. There are no additional homegrown rules for EU players. BUNDESLIGA . Clubs need to include eight homegrown players, including four from their own youth academy, in their squad. But unlike the Premier League, squads aren't restricted to 25 players so they can still sign as many non-homegrown players as they like. There are no restrictions on signing non-EU players. MANCHESTER CITY . Association-trained homegrown players: Joe Hart, Richard Wright, Gael Clichy, James Milner, Frank Lampard. Club-trained homegrown player: Dedryck Boyata .
target: Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell are two who have failed to make it at City .
  Danny Rose and Aaron Cresswell are the latest English players to be linked .
  Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool have more success recruiting English .