Manchester City set for Roque Santa Cruz at seventh attempt

Manchester City are finally expected to complete the signing of Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguay striker, from Blackburn Rovers this afternoon as manager Mark Hughes takes the first steps towards a drastic overhaul of his team’s forward line.

After having six bids for Santa Cruz rejected by Blackburn over the past 18 months, City are on the verge of ending their tortuous pursuit of the player in a deal that could be worth up to £18 million with add-ons, depending on his success at the club.

Santa Cruz will have a thorough medical in Manchester today after returning to England from a holiday and, providing there are no unforeseen complications, he will become Hughes’s second signing of the summer after Gareth Barry’s £12 million arrival from Aston Villa.

Barry, the England midfield player, will almost certainly be handed the captaincy by Hughes in the event that Richard Dunne, the Ireland defender, leaves for Sunderland.

City hope to follow up the impending signing of Santa Cruz with the £50 million capture of Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroon striker, from Barcelona and Carlos Tévez from Manchester United, although they could face competition from Chelsea for the Argentina forward’s signature.

Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, is more interested in Franck Ribéry, of Bayern Munich, and David Villa, of Valencia, and believes that the £25.5 million fee being demanded for Tévez is excessive, but a move cannot be discounted.

Manchester United confirmed over the weekend that Tévez would not be staying at Old Trafford, with Kia Joorabchian, the player’s representative, indicating that the Argentinian’s future should be resolved by the end of next week, if not before.

“Without getting into the point of whether he’s going to City or Chelsea or wherever, Carlos wants to go to a club which has real ambition, a club which is showing intent, a club which he can help achieve great things,” Joorabchian said.

Decent bets
Joe Hart, the Manchester City goalkeeper, is on the brink of joining Birmingham City on a season-long loan, while Lens, Monaco and Saint-Étienne are interested in his team-mate, Gelson Fernandes, the Switzerland midfield player.

Long shots
Bolton Wanderers have insisted that Kevin Davies is not for sale and that any bids for the striker would be rejected amid reports of interest from Blackburn. Hull City are planning an audacious move for Michael Owen, the Newcastle United striker.

Marseilles want to re-sign Didier Drogba, the Chelsea forward.