English Premiership
Hughes won't wait for ever
2009-07-01 14:10
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England - Manchester City manager Mark Hughes said on Wednesday he will exercise as much patience as needs be in an effort to secure the services of Samuel Eto'o.
But Hughes warned that he is prepared pull the plug on the 25 million pounds transfer if he feels he is wasting his time trying to convince the Barcelona striker to sign.
Hughes, who has already spent a total of 30 million pounds ahead of the new English Premier League season on Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, confirmed City have made an offer for the 25 million pounds-rated Eto'o.
But the deal is a long way from being concluded after Barcelona offered the Cameroon international a new two-year contract to remain with the Champions League winners.
Hughes said he accepted signing Eto'o was unlikely to be a quick exercise but he insisted he was ready to end talks if the saga dragged on.
"We have targeted players we think can help us and he's (Eto'o) certainly someone we have a lot of respect for and we feel he can help us," said Hughes.
"If we get to a situation where we feel that things aren't going to happen and we feel the process is stalling and we can't move it forward then that's the time we walk away," the former Manchester United and Wales striker added.
"We've done that before.
"There's always an element of frustration when you can't conclude deals very quickly, but we'll give every deal the patience it deserves.
"We made an offer to Barcelona and now there seems to be a situation between the player and his club.
"We're not involved in that. That needs to be resolved between the player and his club.
"Patience has been mentioned and we'll all have to be patient."
Hughes, armed with significant transfer funds from City's Abu Dhabi owners, is also hoping to sign Carlos Tevez after the Argentina striker's loan deal expired at neighbours Manchester United.
Tevez is available for around 25 million pounds and Hughes said that he is a great fan of the player.
But he insisted that he was also targeting over areas of the team as he looks to mould a side capable of challenging for a Champions League spot.
"Carlos Tevez is another player I have huge admiration for," added Hughes.
"We'll see what happens but at this stage it's very early in our discussions with anybody.
"There are other areas of the team we are looking to strengthen other than attack. We're not about making moves in the transfer market to make statements about where we are. What we're trying to do is build a squad that can be competitive and challenge at the top table.
"The only way we can do that is by being able to bring in top quality players," he explained.
"We're trying to build something that will make us successful in the future."
City finished 10th in the 20-team Premier League last season.
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