Cruz Signs For City

Roque Santa Cruz has at last joined Manchester City from Blackburn Rovers today, making it seventh time lucky for Citizens gaffer Mark Hughes, who had launched six unsuccessful previous bids for the Paraguay international with whom he worked in his previous job at Ewood Park. The club's official website has confirmed that the player has now signed, but there has been no official announcement of the fee involved, which has been rumoured to be somewhere in the region of £15 million, though figures as high as £18 million have also been mooted. The striker is City's second major transfer capture of a summer in which many observers predicted their recently acquired financial clout would begin to be felt, after Gareth Barry joined from Aston Villa at the beginning of the summer. Hughes certainly seems keen on boosting his striking options, with Santa Cruz adding some much-needed height to the Sky Blues' forward line, and moves reportedly afoot for both unsettled Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez, as well as apparently Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o, for whose signature they reportedly find themselves in competition with the Red Devils. The 27-year-old Santa Cruz made his name in Europe with Bayern Munich, where he spent seven years, before joining Blackburn in 2007. He has won 60 caps for his country.