Mark Hughes will ditch his interest in Wilfried Bony at the end of the season.
According to a report in the Daily Mail the Stoke boss has relegated the on loan striker to fourth choice at the Britannia Stadium.
Stoke agreed to pay £80,000 of Bony’s £120,000 salary when they took him on loan at the start of the season but the striker will return to the Etihad at the end of this season.
Hughes is determined to overhaul his side in the summer with Bony and Bojan leading the exodus.
After an explosive time at Swansea the striker from the Ivory Coast earned a £28m move to Manchester City in January 2015 but the goals have dried up since leaving Wales.
With Hughes giving up on the striker the problem returns to Pep Guardiola with City likely to write off the bulk of his transfer fee to move him on.