Yaya's decision

Yaya Touré has been talking about what drove him to join MCFC:

‘In football, you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. But for me, I wanted to play with my brother one time. It was very important for me.

‘Now I have signed for Manchester City and I am very happy. My brother and I want to make great things happen at this club. I am sure we will do it.’

Toure’s claim will only intensify a rivalry between City and United that reached white hot levels last season.

The Ivory Coast midfielder, who will earn £200,000 a week at Eastlands, added: ‘Manchester United are a big club — one of the biggest in the world. But I chose Manchester City because they had not won anything.

‘It is a very nice feeling to come in and see everything changing. For me, that is very important. It is an interesting challenge.’

No-one's going to pretend the £200,000 weekly wage didn't influence him. But I do think there's something in his point that it is more interesting for a player to join a club on an upward journey than one sitting on a higher plateau. Of course, it involves trading down on prestige. But there must be an attraction in making yourself a central figure in a story of progress than a peripheral figure in a story of maintained achievement.

This applies to all of our signings, really. And it's probably less of a factor than the money. But for players who want to be wanted and remembered, to make themselves heroes, there is some logic to it.

MCFC close in on Yaya

City took another step towards the signing of Yaya Touré last night as FC Barcelona claimed on their website a deal had been agreed:

The Barcelona website confirmed: "In case of Toure, [Barcelona Director General Joan] Oliver has recognised an understanding between the club interested in the midfielder, Manchester City, and Barca, but the transfer cannot be made official yet."

This report in Sport says there was a four hour meeting in the Hotel Miramar in Barcelona yesterday involving Yaya, his agent Dmitri Selçuk and Garry Cook. Yaya then had a medical with MCFC staff in Mataró. Everything should be done by the end of the week.

Kolo bows out in victory

Kolo Touré's Ivory Coast were eliminated from the World Cup this afternoon, finishing third in Group G despite being North Korea in their final game. Kolo played, as did his brother and MCFC target Yaya Touré. Yaya scored his team's first goal, with a very deft side-foot finish from the edge of the box. But with Portugal drawing 0-0 with a Brazilian side lacking the imagination of Robinho and Elano, Ivory Coast were sent home.

With Yaya Touré out of the World Cup, I think we might see him at MCFC some time next week.

Mundo Deportivo: Yaya deal done

Monday's El Mundo Deportivo went further than anyone in confirming our deal for Yaya Touré. It said that a deal had been agreed of €30m and subject to a provisional medical check (for which I imagine MCFC doctors would fly to South Africa), it will be announced very soon.

Elano, Sven reunited in Soccer CIty

A special moment tonight for City fans as one of our finest players of recent years - Elano - played and scored in front of the world at Soccer City. All the more meaningful, though, was his emotional reunion with Sven-Göran Eriksson, the man who brought him to MCFC in that fantasy summer of 2007. To see the two of them together, albeit on opposite sides, in such a showcase occasion felt important.

And Elano did very well. He was well involved in that right-inclined midfield position, as Brazil dominated possession against a fairly limited Ivory Coast side. Luis Fabiano put them two goals ahead, and Elano scored the third early in the second half - darting into the box, receiving a cross from Kaká and sweeping the ball past Boubacar Barry with his left foot. But just as Brazil were threatening to step up from excellent to glorious Chiock Tioté jumped onto Elano's shin, who was stretchered off. I am praying it's bruising rather than a break.

There was other City involvement too. Robinho played, and had a few good moments but never quite recovered from the shame of a selfish 35 yard shot in the second minute when he ought to have slid Fabiano in. There was a comic moment late in the second half when the game had descended into discord and drama: Robinho was fouled, went to ground writhing and rolling but on seeing that none of his team mates had surrounded his assailant he had to jump back up and take the throw in. And of course the Touré brothers, who might play together at City next year, did well enough in difficult circumstances.

Yaya deal 'imminent'

Yaya Touré's agent, Dmitri Selçuk, has said that his client's move to Manchester City is 'imminent', according to the Spanish press. A report in Sport says Selçuk told Catalan radio station ONA FM yesterday that a deal had been agreed for €30m (£25m) and that his move was 'inminente.'

He went on to say that agreement is complete between all parties and all that all that remains are the signatures. Obviously Touré is in South Africa at the moment but his team could well exit the World Cup next week which means we could see him paraded around Eastlands in early July.

Sale of Yaya close

I don't want to interrupt the flow of World Cup coverage too much, but there is a story in today's El Mundo Deportivo saying that Yaya Touré's move to City is close, for a fee between €30m and €35m (£25m-£29m).

Outgoing FCB President Joan Laporta is quoted as saying 'the sale of Touré is very advanced' and Yaya himself sounds keen.

Sport: Touré will go to City

Another day, another Yaya Touré story in the Catalan press.

Today it's Sport again, reporting that the deal for Yaya Touré is close to finalisation. As ever, I'm not going to quote anything but just give my impression from the mangled Google translation of the article.

The body text does not seem quite as definitive as the headline, but the parts all seem in place. A fee is apparently agreed, closer to €30m (£24.8m) than the €35m (£29m) Barcelona first wanted. This was never the sticking point, though, but rather our agreement with the player and his agent.

So the real news is then the claim that we have a deal 'in principle' with Yaya Touré, making him one of our highest paid players, comparable to Adebayor and Tévez. That, and the presence of his brother at City, are said to have convinced him to join us. Apparently it will be done 'in days.'

I don't know. Transfer sagas are tiresome enough when experienced through Sky Sports News. But transfer sagas mediated by Google Translate are something else. This sounds like movement from what his agent, Dmitri Selçuk said a few days ago:

"Everything has changed with City, because they talk a lot but then afterwards they don't appear to be a rich club but rather a bankrupt one."

But then it's obviously in his interest to say things that aren't true. I just don't know what's going to happen here.

Yaya set for England?

Yaya Touré's agent, Dmitri Selçuk has said that a deal is done between his client and an unnamed Premier League club:

'If everything goes well, Yaya will go to England,' Seluk told Spanish radio station, Ona FM.

'But we can't talk about definite clubs. We already have a closed deal, and all will be resolved before the World Cup.'

This is interesting stuff. It's certainly conceivable that Yaya Touré has agreed terms with either us, Chelsea or Arsenal. Whether a deal has been agreed between the unnamed Premier League club and Barcelona is less clear. Selçuk has voiced his frustration that Barça were holding out for €35m (£29m), which is well over market value, particularly given Touré has only two years left on his deal. But it's quite possible that we will have paid that if we want him.

Recent reports, though, said Touré would much rather move to a big club than to City. Fair enough. What this all means is that we're not that much closer to knowing where he'll be playing next season, even if this is looking like an increasingly plausible move for us.

Sport: City bid for Yaya, Ibra, Alves

More transfer gossip coming from the Spanish tabloids today, and fairly interesting too. This is from Sport, which is Barcelona based and is well placed for stories regarding transfers in and out of Barça. The article in question says that an MCFC delegation was in Barcelona recently to talk of the transfers of three players.

First, of Yaya Touré: the report claims that we bid €20m (£17m) for the Ivorian with just two years left on his contract. Mancini is keen on his physicality and dynamism; I think he is close to being the box to box shuttler that we need. Barcelona's initial negotiating position was to demand €35m (£29.7m) but apparently they could settle on €30m (£25.5m). Interestingly enough, the report claims that the sticking point is Yaya himself. Despite the promise of playing with his brother he would rather play for Chelsea, from whom he is awaiting an offer.

Next up: Ibra. The article says after the signing of David Villa he is close to leaving the Nou Camp. While he is not keen on a club of City's size, nor on the English weather, he is keen on continuing to earn €9m per year. He would probably prefer a move to either Milan club though. I'm not keen on him at City, for reasons I've gone into before.

And then Dani Alves, for whom we reportedly bid €45m (£38.2m), instantly and understanably rejected, given his importance to the side.

More on Yaya

First we had Kolo - brother of Yaya - suggesting to the M.E.N. that Touré minor might just be interested in coming to City:

Asked if he would like to see City buy his brother, Kolo said: "I hope so. He is a good player, and if he could come to our team that would be great."

And he feels Yaya would jump at the chance to come to England: "He has had a few hard times in Barcelona. He doesn't play a lot, and he loves football and loves to play.

"If he can come, especially to a club in England, he would be really happy because the Premier League is a fantastic place to play football."

But then his agent Dmitri Seluk said that he most certainly would not:

"If Barcelona do not like Yaya there are eight clubs, the most important in the world, who are interested in signing him.

"If he leaves Barca, he will not go to Manchester City where, according to his brother Kolo, he would be welcomed with open arms. He would sign for a more important club."

I wrote about this the other day. I just can't foresee Barcelona letting us have Touré in January. Next summer we could have a decent chance. But if Hughes wants immediate reinforcements for the midfield then I think he will have to look elsewhere.

Another Yaya Touré rumour

In The Sun today:

The Manchester City boss is eyeing a swoop for Yaya Toure after Barcelona hinted they are ready to let him go in January.

The Ivory Coast midfielder, brother of City skipper Kolo, has been on Sparky's hitlist for the best part of 12 months.

Mark Hughes' admiration for Yaya Touré is no secret. And there would be a certain attraction in doing what Arsène Wenger could not in uniting the Touré brothers. They could be to the 2010s what the Brightwells were to the 1990s. Dominant physical presence - one, but not the only quality of Touré minor, is the one thing lacking from our midfield options (don't say Michael Johnson.)

But I still can't see this happening, at least not in January. Barcelona are currently competing on four fronts and aren't exactly overburdened with midfield options. Xavi and Iniesta are obviously brilliant, and Touré, Busquets and Seydou Keita are all very good. But five midfielders, three slots and four competitions does not add up. They need at least one more in January (Mascherano is possible, but they might want someone cheaper), particularly given that they are losing Keita and Yaya to the African Nations Cup. So I just can't see it.

Next summer though? Yeah, why not.

Sunday rumour round up

• Yet another Roberto Mancini rumour. This time in the Daily Star Sunday, which says that 'sources in Italy' claim that a £16million move for Napoli's Ezequiel Lavezzi is being driven by Mancini, who will be in charge at City next season. I don't know what 'sources in Italy' means, or how reliable they are, but with only three games left we should find out about ADUG's long term intentions within the month.

• Also in the Daily Star Sunday is the story that Bayern Munich have set a £50million asking price for Franck Ribéry. This puts us in a strong position, given that his main suitor, Barcelona, may not be willing to pay that much for him. But I don't imagine we'll go for Ribéry unless we sell Robinho, which is looking less likely after his recent goal spurt.

• A more likely transfer is Yaya Touré. The News of the World says that we are 'closing in on' a £25million deal for the Barcelona midfielder. He's a long standing target, we bid in January and he's high up the list for the summer. Touré's a good player, but with the signing of Nigel de Jong he could only really operate if Vincent Kompany was moved back into defence.

• The NotW has something on a City clear out in the summer. The biggest name it suggests is Micah Richards, whom Aston Villa may be interested in. Nicolas Anelka and Carlos Tévez are mentioned as potential transfers in, both of whom are quite plausible targets. 'Hughes sees a front line trio of Tevez, Anelka and Robinho as the perfect blend of industry and flair', apparently.

• Finally, the People brings up John Terry again as a potential target. It suggests a bid of £20million and £200,000 in wages. As much as I've heard this mentioned, I still can't quite get my head around the idea that John Terry would walk out of Stamford Bridge just for money. Could Mr. Chelsea really become Mr. City? Diego, Samuel Eto'o and Ribéry are also mentioned.
  

What could have been

Fascinating stuff from Daniel Taylor and Ian Herbert about players that we tried to sign already. Interestingly enough, it's all the names that appeared in the papers: David Villa, Lassana Diarra, Gigi Buffon, Joleon Lescott, Yaya Touré, Mikel Arteta etc etc.

Two interesting bits though: the first names Hughes gave to ADUG when told of the money available were Valencia's Davids Villa and Silva. But we were quoted £130million and decided against it.

Hughes wanted Tévez but the board feared he would be unpopular with the fans. He certainly wouldn't be unpopular with me.