Spanish giants have offered £25m cash plus either of their two big-name strikers as bait to land wantaway Argentinian striker
Real Madrid have offered Gonzalo Higuain or Karim Benzema to Manchester City as part of a stunning £50 million swoop for Carlos Tevez, Goal.com can reveal.
The Spanish giants have opened tentative discussions with City over a possible swap deal, which includes £25m cash and one of the two big-name strikers moving to Eastlands.
Goal.com understands that sealing a deal for Tevez, who released a statement earlier this week to announce he wants to leave City this summer, is a bigger priority for Mourinho than signing Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero, a transfer which is complicated by the rivalry between the two Madrid clubs.
The Portugese is not completely convinced by Benzema despite his 26-goal haul last season and is also concerned about the injury record of Higuain, who scored 13 goals in 25 games but missed four months of the campaign with a back injury.
Real value both players around the £25m mark but City manager Roberto Mancini will have the final say on whether he believes they will fit into his squad.
City are adamant that they value Tevez at £50m and will not allow him to leave for a reduced sum. The Premier League club are believed to have paid more than £40m to sign the 27-year-old from his third-party owners Media Sports Investment in 2009.
The talks between Real and City are at an early stage and will also have a significant bearing on the futures of Aguero and Emmanuel Adebayor, who is wanted by Mourinho but will be independent of a transfer involving Tevez.
City have already opened negotiations with Atletico about signing Aguero, who has a £40m release clause in his contract.
The Premier League club have no plans to pair up Aguero and Tevez and view the 23-year-old as a natural replacement for his international colleague rather than a potential strike partner.
After it emerged that Juventus had offered Atletico £32.5m for Diego Maradona’s son-in-law, the Spanish club claimed City had already bid £37m.
With January signing Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli already at Eastlands, it remains to be seen whether Mancini will regard either Benzema or Higuain as the player he needs to reinforce his squad.
However, City are keen to offload Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa-Cruz as they attempt to free up space in their squad and reduce their wage bill in order to meet the new financial fair play requirements.
It is understood that the Manchester club will not name any of their trio in their 25-man Premier League squad.
City are believed to have told Real that if they pull out of the race for Aguero that Adebayor will be offered to the Spaniards at a ‘discount’ rate, of between £6-8m.
The Togo international has indicated that he is willing to take a pay cut to force through a transfer to the Bernabeu. The former Arsenal man is believed to earn around £170,000-a-week at Eastlands
According to Sky Italia, Manchester City have agreed a £23m fee with Arsenal for midfielder Samir Nasri.
City line-up £55m splurge on Eto'o and Aguero as Tevez edges closer to the exit
Manchester City are ready to flex their muscles in the summer transfer window with a sensational £55million double swoop for Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o and Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero.
City had opened tentative discussions with Inter over a possible swap involving Carlos Tevez and Eto'o last month but that was abandoned as figures, including the wage demands of the Cameroon striker, got too high.
However the latest step in the long-running saga involves an £18m transfer fee which is completely independent of Tevez, and Eto'o is keen to talk.
The two-time Champions League winner hopes to secure one final big contract before his stock begins to drop as he gets older, and was unimpressed when he held discussions with Inter president Massimo Moratti about improving his current deal. He wants a further two years with a salary to match City's offer.
The Eastlands outfit are wary having been in a similar position before when Eto'o left Barcelona, but have been assured he is more serious about the move this time.
Eto'o scored 21 goals in Serie A last season for a struggling Inter outfit and having won all that there is to in Spain and Italy, he would welcome a new challenge.
Last month, he said: 'It is true that I have a few offers, I have a month off now to evaluate all of them and decide what to do. I’m 30, I’m close to my final big contract and we’ll have to see whether I should stay or go.
'My eventual departure is not to try to earn 100,000 or 200,000 euros more. What matters in my career is being happy in a city, playing for a big club where I can enjoy myself.'
The transfers will be the first major piece of business for the club following the announcement they were set for a £400m windfall from selling the naming rights to their stadium and extending a shirt sponsorship deal with Etihad.
Meanwhile City's pursuit of Aguero appears more difficult. The club have so far rejected talk they are in for the Argentine, who is also wanted by Real Madrid.
Yet after it emerged Juventus had offered Atletico Madrid £32.5m for Diego Maradona's son-in-law, the Spanish club claimed City had already bid £4.5m more. That in turn has forced Juve to look elsewhere for attacking reinforcements and they are now expected to challenge Tottenham for the signature of Villarreal's Giuseppe Rossi.
Aguero is seen as a natural replacement for Tevez although City still want £50m for their Argentinian talisman.
Tevez rocked City in June by demanding he be allowed to end his stay for the sake of his family.
Tevez, who was City's top-scorer last season as they qualified for the Champions League for the first time, issued a statement to Sportsmail explaining his wish to leave the club.
It said: 'It is with great regret that I have to inform Manchester City of my wish to leave the club. I would like to state that I have great respect for the club, its supporters and the owner, Sheik Mansoor, who has been nothing other than respectful to me.
'I hope that the people understand the difficult circumstances I have been living under the past 12 months, in regards to my family.
'Living without my children in Manchester has been incredibly challenging for me. Everything I do, I do for my daughters, Katie and Florencia. I need to be closer to them and to spend more time with them.
'I need them to be happy because my life is about them now. I need to be in a place where they can adapt. Being captain of Manchester City, qualifying for the Champions League, winning the FA Cup and finishing as top-scorer last season has made me very proud.
'I hope that most of the City fans will understand that I have given them my all on the pitch and that my dedication to the city cause has been 100 per cent on the pitch.
'I hope I have done my bit to help City continue their progress towards their ambition to be champions of England and to advance in the Champions League. I have no doubt that the players and management of City will achieve great success in the future.'
Another player who could be heading through the Etihad Stadium's entrance is Samir Nasri. Reports late on Thursday suggested City and Arsenal had reached a deal that would see the Frenchman follow Gael Clichy to the club for a fee of £23m.
City stopper set to be first McLeish signing
Shay Given will be Alex McLeish’s first signing and the Aston Villa boss is closing in on Alan Hutton.
New Villa chief McLeish made securing a new keeper to replace Brad Friedel, who quit for Spurs, his first priority.
And now Given, 35, is set to join permanently next week from Manchester City in a £2million deal.
McLeish originally wanted to bring Ben Foster with him from Birmingham but the move was scrapped due to the bad blood between the clubs.
Now Ireland international Given is poised to complete a medical and agree personal terms of £50,000-a-week.
He also had the chance of a move to West Brom and Italian Serie B side Sampdoria, but neither could come up with an acceptable package.
City have lined up Sunderland’s Craig Gordon to replace Given for around £2m. Villa winger Stewart Downing is expected to leave for Liverpool with McLeish up against Sunderland’s Steve Bruce in the race for Wigan striker Charles N’Zogbia.
Manchester City's Jo and Felipe Caicedo are close to sealing moves to Russia.
Brazilian striker Jo joined City from Russian giants CSKA Moscow for £6million, following a successful spell, scoring 44 goals in 78 games.
However, he has struggled to find his best form since moving to England and has made just 21 appearances since 2008, having three loan spells; two at Everton and one at Galatasary.
But now he may have found an escape route, with CSKA prepared to take him back on another loan, with a view to a permanent deal in January.
Teammate and regular loanee Caicedo, is also in talks with a Moscow club, this time Lokomitiv Moscow.
The Ecuadorian has spent three years on-loan at three different clubs: Sporting Lisbon, Malaga and Levante.
However, despite playing impressively at Levante, scoring 14 goals in 29 appearances, City are prepared to let him go and Lokomotiv have entered talks with him.
"Caicedo has not yet signed any contract with Lokomotiv," Lokomotiv president Olga Smorodskaya told RIA Novosti.
"We are in very difficult talks with his club, therefore, I wouldn't like to endanger their success by premature forecasting of the outcome.
"Probably, the negotiations will last for a week."
Bayern rage at City over Boateng . . . Oh no
Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has blasted City for their refusal to engage in negotiations over defender Jerome Boateng.
The defender, who joined City for £10 million from Hamburg last summer, struggled to break into Roberto Mancini team during his debut season in the Premier League, which was hampered by injury.
Boateng has made clear that he would like to force through a move to Bayern, saying: ''I would like to go to Munich. On my side everything is clear.''
But, judging by Rummenigge's comments, a deal remains nowhere near completion - despite reports last month stating Boateng had agreed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga giants.
"They are using a tactic I've never seen," Rummenigge said. "They don't respond, even if we try to contact them. I think they are going to have 48 players under contract but according to Financial Fair Play they can have only 25.
"According to their last balance sheet, if I'm correct, they're down £127m. Maybe they still have a trick up their sleeves but I'm not sure that they will be permitted to play in the Champions League."
City have already signed two defenders in the transfer window, Stefan Savic and Gael Clichy, pushing Boateng even further out of the first-team picture.
Garry Cook reveals plans for Manchester City success on and off the pitch
Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook has revealed there have been conversations between the club and UEFA over how they intend to meet new Financial Fair Play regulations.
Given the grandiose plans for land around the stadium, it is estimated Etihad Airways have pledged £300million over the next 10 years for a range of projects that include renaming City's home the Etihad Stadium.
Even so, it will not come close to wiping out losses in excess of £120million posted in City's last accounts, to May 2010, which leave them in jeopardy of failing to meet FFP.
However, Cook has confirmed an open dialogue with European football's power brokers and given the Blues' "aggressive" commercial plans, the gap is closing quickly.
"We have a very open dialogue with UEFA," said Cook.
"We have had several meetings with UEFA about our plans and they are very supportive of Manchester City's ambition.
"There are many football clubs who have the backdrop of regulation that is being placed into the world of football.
"We are no different to any other football club."
A special Airbus-330, with a City livery, will fly between Manchester and Abu Dhabi as part of the deal, which also includes an extension to Etihad's present shirt sponsorship and the renaming of an area around City's stadium, now known as the 'Etihad Campus'.
It all forms part of an ultra-ambitious plan to gatecrash Europe's elite clubs.
Owner Sheikh Mansour has invested in excess of £1billion so far, including the acquisition of the club three years ago, and has been rewarded with a place in next season's Champions League plus the FA Cup, City's first trophy in 35 years.
He has already shelled out on two signings this week in Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic, although that duo would be eclipsed by the arrival of Samir Nasri, with fresh reports surfacing in Italy that a fee has been agreed with Arsenal, which City are yet to respond to.
Having made the mistake of trumpeting rather too loudly his view of City's future direction, and been left with egg on his face when Manchester United beat the Blues in a 2010 Carling Cup semi-final, Cook is wary of saying too much at such an early stage of the summer.
"I have got into trouble with this one before," he laughed.
"We will look to continue our growth, on and off the pitch.
"Our ambition for next year means we are competing in a new competition - the Champions League - plus the three others.
"We will endeavour to be successful in all four."
OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal are prepared to let captain Cesc Fabregas leave the club and re-join Barcelona, providing the Catalan club pay £35m. Daily Mail
Liverpool are closing in on the signing of Roma goalkeeper Doni - despite Atletico Madrid's late attempt to hijack the deal. Talksport
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is reportedly ready to switch his attention from Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing to Wigan wide man Charles N'Zogbia. caughtoffside
Chelsea have given up hope of signing Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and have instead turned their attention to Werder Bremen midfield star, Marko Marin.footylatest
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp will sell midfielder Niko Kranjcar to Fiorentina to raise the £20m needed to secure Espanyol striker Pablo Osvaldo. Metro
Tottenham are ready to sign the 'new Didier Drogba' - Ivory Coast's teenage striker Souleymane Coulibaly. Daily Mirror
Reports out of Italy are linking Sunderland with a move for Liverpool flop Alberto Aquilani. footylatest
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is keen to make Wigan winger Charles N'Zogbia his 10th signing of the summer. Daily Mirror
Stoke boss Tony Pulis is set to make Carlton Cole his first signing of the summer in a £4.5m deal. Daily Mirror
Martin Jol wants £3.5m Mexican striker Aldo de Nigris to freshen up his Fulham attack. Daily Mirror
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson has confirmed Rob Green and Ben Foster are on his goalkeeping wish-list. Daily Mirror
Fulham are lining up a move for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane as a replacement for QPR and West Ham target Andy Johnson. goal.com
Striker Eric Odhiambo has signed for Turkish club Denizlispor after leaving Inverness Caledonian Thistle. (Daily Record)
Chelsea fear midfielder Michael Essien will miss all of next season after suffering a training ground injury on Friday. The Ghana international may have damaged knee ligaments that will sideline him for up to six months. Daily Mirror
This is Essien's third serious knee injury in three years and casts doubt over his long-term future at the top of the game. Daily Mirror
Ray Wilkins thinks Tottenham will find it extremely difficult to keep hold of Luka Modric. Talksport
Celtic assistant manager Johan Mjallby has agreed a contract extension with the Glasgow club. (Various)
Rangers manager Ally McCoist has been told he will get to spend the £850,000 bonus the Scottish champions will receive following former midfielder Charlie Adam's transfer to Liverpool from Blackpool. (Various)
St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown is angry that the Perth club are still owed £10,000 from Dunfermline Athletic for last season's loan deal for defender Kevin Rutkiewicz. (Various)
