On 30 August 2011, Hargreaves was pictured supposedly having a medical with Manchester City doctor Phillip Batty ahead of a move to the club. The medical team at City were reportedly impressed by Hargreaves' state of body as well as his state of mind. City had been looking for a replacement for Patrick Vieira who retired the season before and an additional midfielder due to Yaya Touré's anticipated absence during January 2012 because of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. They had earmarked Daniele De Rossi, Fernando Gago and Mark van Bommel but when these approaches failed, City turned to Hargreaves – a player they had been looking at for a few months prior to their initial approach.