Manchester City Football Club

• Nickname:Sky Blues
• Founded:1887
• Manager:Roberto Mancini

• Ground:City of Manchester Stadium
• Capacity:47805

Bridge completes City switch

03 Jan 2009 - 15:02:53

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Manchester City have completed signing of England full-back Wayne Bridge from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.

The 28-year-old international left-back has put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half year deal at Eastlands for a fee which is reported to be in excess of £10million.

Bridge is the first signing in what is expected to be a busy transfer window for City boss Mark Hughes.

Hughes is believed to have a large war-chest at his disposal following the takeover of the club by the Abu Dhabi United Group earlier in the season.

Bridge joined Chelsea from Southampton for £7million in July 2003, but has seen his first-team opportunities become limited in recent seasons.

He had fallen behind Ashley Cole in the pecking order for both club and country and had started only three Premier League games this season.

"Wayne's a player I know I played alongside him at Southampton and I saw him come through the ranks," Hughes told the club's official website.

"He was an outstanding young player and he's progressed year on year in his career.

"He's a successful player. He's an England international and has just played for one of the top four sides in the country.

"He's of the right quality and he's the type of player we need to attract. We need good players that understand this league and we'll look to carry on in that way and add more if we can."