City hold Ronaldinho talks
09 Jun 2008 - 08:30:46
Manchester City are confident that they will be able to complete the signings of Barcelona's Ronaldinho and Jo from CSKA Moscow before the start of the new season.
Executive chairman Garry Cook believes City will finalise the £20million signing of Brazil striker Jo later this week while the club held talks with Ronaldinho's advisers over the weekend.
"I think we'll be taking care of that one (Jo) pretty quickly," Cook told the BBC. "It might be within the next seven days, sooner if possible.
"Barcelona have given us the clearance to talk to Ronaldinho and we've had people in Brazil over the weekend.
"We've a long, long list of things we need to get done because it's a very complex issue, with the type of player that he is. But when you're ambitious as we are, you just keep ticking the boxes and we're moving forward.
"We're nowhere near complete, but the most important thing is that he wants to get back to playing football and show the world again that he is the greatest footballer."
Meanwhile, City boss Mark Hughes has backed the squad strengthening plans, adding: "It's a long old season, what with the Premier League and commitments in Europe as well.
"We hope to have a very good run in Europe if we can, that is so important for us to keep building as a club and to have recognition in Europe, so that will be a priority.
"The squad will have to have the resources to cope with the demands that will be placed upon it. You need depth to your squad, but it has got to be depth with quality.
"I need to have a real look at what's here, the balance of the squad. Maybe some positions are overloaded, others might be a bit weaker.
"It's a case of looking at the squad, making sure it's as balanced as it can be and maybe supplementing it with some more good players."