Sven-Goran Eriksson has identified Nigel Reo-Coker as the man to replace Joey Barton as part of his £50m rebuild at Manchester City. The midfielder, who asked for a transfer from West Ham United at the end of last season, has already spoken to Aston Villa and City have registered a firm interest in the England Under-21 captain.
The former England manager is working through a list of targets as he waits to be confirmed as Stuart Pearce’s successor, an announcement that will come when Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has built the 75% stake necessary to take the club off the stock market.
Sky agreed to sell Thaksin its 9.9% stake and Eriksson’s arrival should be confirmed soon.
Fulham have made their first signing of the summer with Aaron Hughes, 27, agreeing to a £1m move from Aston Villa. The Northern Ireland defender has a three-year deal and is reunited with his former international manager Lawrie Sanchez.
"I’m happy to have signed before pre-season, which gives me the opportunity of being with the lads on day one, when we come back to training next week," said Hughes, whose Villa team-mate Steven Davis is also reportedly close to signing. Sanchez has warned Fulham’s fans not to expect instant success. "It won’t happen from day one," he said. "We are going to have major changes this summer with probably six, seven or eight players coming in. We need more than five weeks. To get where I was as Northern Ireland boss took three years."
Wigan have signed Carlo Nash for £300,000 on a two-year deal from Preston. The 33-year-old goalkeeper was put on the transfer list after publicly asking for a move to Fulham in January.
Daniel Taylor@ Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007
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