City close to acquiring Toure

TRANSFER NEWS:MANCHESTER CITY are in advanced talks with Arsenal over signing Kolo Toure, although their pursuit of Joleon Lescott remains at an impasse, with Everton determined to hold on to the England international and intent on driving their valuation of the player towards the €35 million mark. City, who had a €17 million bid for Lescott rejected last week, have yet to return with a further offer and would prefer not to do so until the 26-year-old agitates for a move.

Whether Lescott is prepared to do that remains to be seen, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender running the risk of leaving Goodison Park under a cloud if he seeks to force the issue.

Everton, however, have shown no willingness to negotiate hitherto, prompting City to believe that the only way Lescott can be prised from Merseyside without paying way over the odds is through the player making it known he wishes to move on.

Should Lescott, who cost Everton €5.8 million when he joined from Wolves three years ago, submit a transfer request, City would have some bargaining power and be confident of landing the player.

In many ways the situation is similar to the one that City found themselves in when trying to entice John Terry from Chelsea. This time, however, City are more optimistic that the end result will be an England defender accepting rather than rejecting their advances.

Toure’s move would appear more straightforward, with Arsenal expected to accept a fee in the region of €17 million. Hughes picked Toure out in January and his interest in the player resurfaced following Terry’s decision to commit his future to Chelsea. Should Toure agree to join, he would be City’s first defensive signing in a summer when the club have spent close to €80 million on their forward line.

The 28-year-old has been an integral part of the Arsenal side for the past seven years but his form suffered last season, when it also emerged that he had fallen out with William Gallas.

Although Arsene Wenger has a replacement for Toure in the shape of Thomas Vermaelen, who signed from Ajax for €12 million earlier this summer, the Arsenal manager would have little by way of defensive cover and could well seek to strengthen in that department over the coming weeks.

He is an admirer of Brede Hangeland at Fulham but the west London club are not looking to sell and it would need a €17 million bid to change that stance.

Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs believes Michael Owen provides Manchester United with the kind of out-and-out striker they have not had since Ruud van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid and is confident the former Newcastle United player will improve the balance and potency of the team’s attack.

Although Giggs acknowledges that the real tests for Owen (29) are yet to come, he is encouraged by the four goals the forward scored in as many games during United’s tour of east Asia.

This week’s Audi Cup in Munich, in which United face Boca Juniors and either Bayern Munich or Milan, should give a fairer indication of how one of Alex Ferguson’s most unexpected signings will begin the campaign.

“I don’t think there was any real scepticism among the players about his arrival. The manager explained that he provides something we haven’t got,” said Giggs. “Kiko (Federico Macheda) is probably the most like Michael in the sense that he is an out-and-out goalscorer but he is still very young. Wayne and Dimitar Berbatov do things outside the box.

“Michael is a pure predator and that is something we have not really had since Ruud left. Before that we had Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but our chances-to-conversion rate was not so good last season and Michael should improve that. He is a poacher who scores all types of goals. They all come from inside the box – that’s where he comes alive.” Guardian Service