Wolfsburg (Germany), Dec 30 (DPA) English Premier League club Manchester City are after VfL Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko and ready to splash out 35 million euros ($46.2 million) for him, news reports said.
Germany’s Bild daily published the figure Wednesday and said that City want to have the Bosnia striker on board for the Jan 5 game against Arsenal.
In Britain, The Daily Telegraph said that negotiations between senior figures at the clubs began earlier this week. Sky Sports spoke of ‘advanced talks’.
Wolfsburg papers said the deal was all but done while Wolfsburg general manager Dieter Hoeness did not want to comment.
‘We have the chance to win the league this year and the decisive factor could be Edin Dzeko,’ said City manager Roberto Mancini. ‘This player can decide titles and that is why we want him.’
Dzeko, 24, was instrumental in Wolfsburg winning a surprise Bundesliga title in 2009 and he was league top scorer in the past season.
But Wolfsburg are now enjoying a poor season in 13th place. Coach Steve McClaren has the backing of the club leadership but the team faces changes in the current winter break.
Dzeko has been longing to leave Wolfsburg since 2009 and has been linked with AC Milan. City have also been after him for a long time and Liverpool were also mentioned in recent days days.