City are set to sign Adam Johnson from Middlesbrough after the Teeside club accepted their latest offer of £6m.
The fee could rise, depending on appearances and it is rumoured the winger is in Manchester undergoing a medical and the blues hope to have the paperwork finalised before the 5pm deadline. If completed, Johnson will be City’s second transfer deadline signing, following former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira to Eastlands.
It has been a frustrating day for the blues, having missed out on McDonald Mariga due to the Kenyan not being allowed a work permit and the Johnson deal looked dead in the water after Boro had initially rejected the blues offer. However, City’s persistence seems to have paid off with Johnson ready to become a blue.
His signing could spell the end of Martin Petrov’s City career. The Bulgarian is the last surviving member of Sven Goran Eriksson’s brief reign but a lack of appearances this season could see him heading for the Eastlands revolving door.
Let’s just hope that, in the next twenty minutes, we are not reporting the deal as being dead.