The Spanish international will sign the contract and complete his medical once the World Cup comes to a close in South Africa.

Silva, 24, is considered by many as one of the finest talents in European football and this is no doubt a major coup for City boss Roberto Mancini, who had this to say:

“I hope he will be a very important player for Manchester City. I am so pleased he is coming to us, I think he can make a big, big impact. In signing David, we are showing the world that we are bringing the best players here and that we hope to compete to win the Premier League.”

Silva, who has been on the books at Valencia since way back in 2000, had this to say regarding his move to City: “The Premier League is one of the best competitions in the world and I want to bring success to City. They are a club with a great future with fantastic players. I want to be an important player in City’s history.”

Unsurprisingly, Manchester City’s odds to win next season’s Premier League title have been cut this morning, with some bookmakers offering just 5/1 that Silva and co win the title in the 2010/2011 season. This really is an incredible signing by City. Silva is a player who can win games on his own and I for one believe he will be a huge success in England.

I’m keen to know what you have to say on this one. Comments below please.

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6 foot 8 inch striker Nikola Zigic will be a Birmingham City player next season after the Midlands club agreed a £6 million deal with Valencia to bring the lanky larry to St Andrews.

Zigic, 29, is very tall and will be playing at this summer’s World Cup with Serbia.

One thing that Zigic will add to Alex McLeish’s Birmingham is height up front.

As well as being very tall, Zigic can score goals.

The Birmingham fans have already prepared a song for Zigic. It goes something like this: “He’s big, he’s blue, he’s taller than me and you.”

We reckon Birmingham fans will be seeing a lot of route one football next season now that Zigic has been signed.

Before the news that Zigic was signing for Birmingham, Tottenham’s Peter Crouch was the tallest player currently in the Premier League. Stefan Maierhofer was the tallest in the Premier League at the start of last season but he joined Championship side Bristol City back in March so he doesn’t count!

With Villa now all but signed, Barca will now focus their attentions towards the Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas. It was reported yesterday that Fabregas had informed Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger of his desire to leave the Emirates this summer and re-join the club where it all began for him.

This led to bookmakers slashing the odds on Fabregas to be a Barcelona player next season, with one bookie making him a 1/8 shot to move to the Catalan giants before the close of this summer’s transfer window. It would appear that the only thing which may prevent Fabregas from becoming a Barcelona player is the transfer fee.

Several papers have reported this morning that the Gunners will not accept anything less than £50 million for their club captain but at the moment Barca are only offering £30 million and Yaya Toure according to reports. Anyway, for what it’s worth, I would be shocked to see Fabregas still wearing the red and white of Arsenal next season.

You would think that Barca would be satisfied with signing both Villa and Fabregas. It would appear not. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is also on their summer shopping list with one paper claiming that Barca will make an amazing £70 million bid for him in the coming weeks.

To be honest, I can’t see Barca bidding £70 million for Torres, considering the fact they are already spending upwards of £70 million to bring Villa and Fabregas to the Camp Nou, but I can definitely see them making some sort of bid. Maybe something like, £35 million and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. There is no doubt that Liverpool could do with some cash but with Torres being their best player, I can’t imagine they are too keen to let him go.

Could you imagine how unbelievably good Barca would be next season if Villa, Fabregas and Torres were in the team. They are already an exceptional team as it is but adding the likes of Villa, Fabregas and Torres could only make them better. As always, we want to hear what you have to say. Share your opinion on the matter by simply leaving a comment below.

Even the most ardent United fan will now admit that Chelsea have one hand on the Premier League title. Carlo Ancelotti’s side are a point ahead with a game in hand and with games running out, it is definitely Chelsea’s to lose.

The absence of Wayne Rooney up front this afternoon undoubtedly cost United. Berbatov was up to his old tricks. Giving out to other team-mates for his own failings, tamely shooting the ball at Paul Robinson and looking as lazy as ever.

There has been much talk in recent days and weeks that Ferguson will make a move for Valencia striker David Villa when the summer transfer window opens and I am sure the large majority of United fans would love to see the Spaniard arrive at Old Trafford.

Villa, 28, would cost United at least £35 million and if you believe what you read in the papers, the Premier League Champions don’t have that kind of money to spend. If they were to sell Berbatov, which I feel Ferguson would love to do, I reckon they would be lucky to get £12 million for him. It’s amazing to think that United coughed up over £30 million to sign Berbatov back in 2008 from Tottenham.

I’m keen to hear what you have to say on this one. Comments below please.

The first one that caught my eye today was a rumour that has been doing the rounds for months and months and month. Manchester United are apparently preparing a massive January transfer window bid for Valencia striker David Villa.

The Spanish international has been linked with a move to the Premier League for years now, but for whatever reasons he remains in La Liga. Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to be in the market for a new frontman after failing to replace you know who last summer. Villa, 27, in my view would be an outstanding addition, however I must admit I would be surprised if a move were to go through.

Meanwhile, Villa’s fellow countryman Fernando Torres has also been linked with a January move today. The Liverpool striker is reportedly a £50 million target for the world’s richest club Manchester City. Torres, 25, has spent just over two years at Anfield, however there has been a lot of talk recently that the Merseyside club may have to offload their star striker to ease the club’s financial problems.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez claimed last week that he would leave the club if he was forced to sell Torres, so taking that into account, a move to Eastlands looks very unlikely. It would be interesting to see if City made a massive bid, how Liverpool would react.

And finally, Barcelona are keeping tabs on Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe with a view to a possible summer bid. The England international has been in cracking form this season and is currently the Premier League’s top scorer after last week’s five goals against Wigan. Defoe, 27, only returned to White Hart Lane during last January’s transfer window after spending a year at Fratton Park with Portsmouth.

I would be gutted to see Defoe leave England because he without doubt one of the finest strikers in Europe. It would be intriguing to see how Defoe would handle life at the very top at such a massive club like Barca, with all due respect to Tottenham.

Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to leave your comments below.

Several papers have reported today that Sir Alex Ferguson is preparing to spend a large chunk of the £80 million received from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer on the Spanish pair once the January transfer window opens.

Valencia have admitted this morning that they would find it incredibly hard to turn down any bids for both Silva and Villa this winter, with the club still firmly in financial difficulty. As you can probably guess by the title of this piece, I’m a massive fan of both Villa and Silva.

Both players still have several years left in their career’s, especially Silva who is still only 23-years old. I’m sure the majority of you who saw the pair play in the European Championships back in 2008 will know just how good they are. Without them, I doubt it whether or not Spain would have gone all the way in Austria & Switzerland.

As a football fan in general, I would be delighted to see both Villa and Silva play in the Premier League. At the rumoured £45 million, they undoubtedly represent great value for money and I think it’s fair to say that the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City would all be very jealous should the duo arrive at Old Trafford.

What do you think? Comments below please.

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When asked about the possibility of signing Villa, Barcelona president, Joan Laporta had this to say : “He’s [Villa] a player we’re interested in, and we made a good bid for him, closer to €40 million than €50 million.”

Villa, 28, is desperate to join the current European Champions and it is understood that a deal could be complete early next week. With Villa now looking nailed on to arrive that seems to clear the way for Samuel Eto’o to leave the club.

Manchester City have already made a bid of £25 million for the Cameroon international, however that bid has yet to be accepted or rejected. City are willing to pay Eto’o as much as £250,000 a week to persuade him to move to Eastlands.

It will be fascinating to see how this one pans out over the coming days. There’s no way Barca are going to sign Villa and keep Eto’o, it just doesn’t make sense, so I feel a move to the Premier League is now a strong possibilty for Eto’o. Stay tuned to Football Corner for all the latest.

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