Manchester City to fork out £18m for Blackburn star Santa Cruz

According to the Daily Mail, Mark Hughes and Roque Santa Cruz will finally get their chance to reunite, as Manchester City and Blackburn are set to agree on a fee of £18m within the day.

The Paraguayan striker has been linked with City almost from the moment Mark Hughes left Blackburn for Eastlands, and even though Sam Allardyce would prefer to keep his star striker at the club through at least the end of the season, he could be tempted by the £10m of spending money that he could receive from the sale.

The 18m is more than five times the £3.5m that Blackburn paid Bayern Munich for Santa Cruz in the summer of 2007, so when it comes to getting a return on your investment, Blackburn are

Is he worth the price for City? Santa Cruz has scored only three league goals this season and four overall, and he has missed Blackburn’s last three league matches with a calf injury. But, he’ll have a lot more in the way of suppliers at City, so you’d have to expect him to end the season with a pretty respectable tally.

Even if they are overpaying, they don’t have many other options at hand. Jermain Defoe wants to go back to Tottenham, Craig Bellamy’s not going anywhere, Emile Heskey isn’t exactly the goal-getter they might be looking for, and the world-class strikers they desire aren’t realistic options right now.

City have reportedly made an £8m bid for Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge. However, even though Bridge isn’t the first-choice left back at the Bridge, Luiz Felipe Scolari could reluctant to let the England international go.

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