Sven lands second signing
14 Jul 2007 - 14:55:51
Sven-Goran Eriksson has made his second signing since being appointed Manchester City manager with the capture of midfielder Gelson Fernandes.
Fernandes, the current captain of the Switzerland Under-21 side, has joined the Citizens for an undisclosed fee from FC Sion.
The 20-year-old midfielder follows Rolando Bianchi through the doors at the City of Manchester Stadium after Eriksson concluded his first piece of transfer business on Friday.
The former England coach completed the £8.8million signing of the ex-Italy Under-21 international striker from Reggina.
Fernandes made 32 starts for Sion last season and had reportedly attracted interest from City's Premier League rivals Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United.
"He will fly out to Sweden for City's pre-season tour along with Eriksson's first signing, Rolando Bianchi, and the rest of the squad on Sunday," confirmed a club statement.
Meanwhile, Eriksson has confirmed the appointment of Hans Backe as his new assistant.
The 55-year-old Swede has been a successful manager in his own right after guiding FC Copenhagen to three Danish titles but has agreed to become Eriksson's number two.
"I've known Hans for a very long time and I offered him this job, but because he has been a manager I didn't know if he would accept," Eriksson told the club's official website.
"He's won three titles with FC Copenhagen, managed in Austria and Turkey, but he accepted the offer and I'm very happy.
"He has a lot of experience, he knows a lot of players from around the world and he's a very good coach."