And they are also hoping that a big storm brewing in Barcelona will deliver £25m striker Samuel Eto'o into their hands.
Barca manager Pep Guardiola wants Eto'o out of the club and City are waiting in the wings to snap him up.
The double Champions League-winning striker has dug in his heels over his demands for a severance payment, and claims he is prepared to see out the final year of his contract if necessary.
City have already had a £25m bid for Eto'o accepted and have made the player an acceptable offer. But until the row over the payment is sorted out, the Blues cannot be entirely sure of landing the Cameroon star.
Guardiola is reported to be furious with club president Joan Laporta for allowing the argument between club and player to escalate.
Cash
He wants the cash from City to fund the Catalans' pursuit of Valencia's David Villa.
The pressure on Barca has grown this week with deadly rivals Real Madrid unveiling £80m former United star Cristiano Ronaldo.
With reports in Spain suggesting that Barca are around £350m in debt, the fee from City is vital for the club's rebuilding plans, as they also look to land Liverpool's Javier Mascherano.
Talks have already begun with Valencia over Villa and as soon as a deal is agreed, Barca are expected to come to a quick conclusion with Eto'o.
But City are still not giving up on their hopes of having the England captain in their ranks by the time of next summer's World Cup finals.
Chelsea have rebuffed a bid of £28m plus Daniel Sturridge, and new manager Carlo Ancelotti insisted Terry would remain captain "forever."
But, until Terry himself publicly commits himself to Chelsea, City will not give up the chase.
Said Ancelotti: "Terry is a symbol of this team. He will be captain next season. He said he wants to stay forever and we want to keep him for ever."
City are also still wading through the complexities of signing Carlos Tevez but reports that they have enquired about Barcelona defender Carles Puyol are wide of the mark.
Which of these players do you think City will land - and which would be the key buy? Have your say.
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
jerseyblue, jersey (07/07/2009 at 08:59)
OrigamiNinja, Inverness (07/07/2009 at 09:00)
jed98, london (07/07/2009 at 09:13)
bailsy, Tokyo (07/07/2009 at 09:13)
bluepeteruk, Manchester (07/07/2009 at 09:17)
bluewithaveiw (07/07/2009 at 09:19)
if for nothing more than to stop everybody guessing whats happening.
Got to the stage i'm not even confident that we'll sign him !
The Original Blue John, London (07/07/2009 at 09:19)
A WORTHY BLUE (07/07/2009 at 09:20)
is tevez coming or not? i'm hopeing it's just the fa taking their time or we want to parade him with terry/eto(i wish)and not that he's been waiting on chelski appointing ancelotti.
the wait is doing my head in now and can't wait for the season to start.if we do get tevez,eto,terry and lescott then top 4 is certainly a possibility.being greedy i know but ashley young would make this a perfect transfer window for me!
sportcity kid, eastlands (07/07/2009 at 09:20)
Nick ,The Voice of Reason, , Surrey Stockbroker Belt,(Blackley Born & Bred). (07/07/2009 at 09:20)
CARDBOARD-CITY, Stalyvegas (07/07/2009 at 09:21)
They either wanna play for Gods own club or they dont.The wage is sky high in an attempt to make up for the lack of European football.In twelve months they are gonna have both , so why dont we put a deadline on these offers ? C'MON YOU BLUE BOYS !!!!!!!!
Harry Dowd's Broken Finger, Guildford (07/07/2009 at 09:22)
Joorabchian said: "The Premier League have changed their rules now when you do make a transfer it has to be a permanent transfer. All his rights will be sold, all his economical rights will be sold and he will belong to the club that he will play for.
"Pre-season will start somewhere between 9 and 12 July. He will have to start wherever he starts by 11, 12 July.
"So, by the first week of July, there will be a decision made, a contract signed and a club announced."
Well we do have today, of course.
Lee Perth oz, Perth Oz (07/07/2009 at 09:24)
in the words of credence clearwater revival "i see a blue moon arising"
Jon Howarth (07/07/2009 at 09:27)
bluenun, manchester (07/07/2009 at 09:29)
Eric, still Dutch (07/07/2009 at 09:30)
It's no use talking about the money. Everybody outside City is already that much occupated with us having all the luxury, why interfere.
I admire City for trying to get big players and I surely hope it's the right ones that come in. It's all about results in the end. 7 of 8 weeks left in the window. Patience ...
eternal optimist, san pedro,, spain (07/07/2009 at 09:31)
Gettin nervy about Tevez as nothing is being said, Eto'o saga is getting comical, get Lescott with 20million and jo on loan for a year.
Give Terry and Eto'o a deadline then Offer big bucks for Lucio and Fabiano instead, and in the words of Gordon Ramsay.............. DONE.
Maybe we should get him to do the transfers, at least they would happen quickly.
Get a grip City put us out of our miseries.
CTID
Blue Moon..., Manchester (07/07/2009 at 09:36)
completely agree mate
this is stupid now
Mr Wiskas, Swine Town (07/07/2009 at 09:37)
tonybookoverlapping, oxford (07/07/2009 at 09:40)
proudtobeblue (07/07/2009 at 09:40)
LisbonCasual, Portugal (07/07/2009 at 09:42)
Blue of Arabia, Arabian desert (07/07/2009 at 09:43)
Assuming it took a couple of days for player and club to agree a deal, the leaves the big question, how long will the FA take to fully clear the deal. Am assuming a week, so just as Tevez’s advisor Kia Joorabchian indicated that the deal should be signed sealed and delivered by the 10th.
Be patient guys, we waited 34 years. Every manager, supporter and club player would love to be in our situation. When I read comments on the times paper or the BBC, the level of panic and jealousy is beyond imaginations. They are shirting themselves.
Sing for the moment, where are our poets? We need songs for Sheikh Manssor, Cook, Barry, Tevez and Eto’o
Blue Jazzman, Marple (07/07/2009 at 09:44)
Personally I thing we need one or two strong characters in defence as well as ability
With that in mind, I believe Upson might be more of a second choice if we fail with Terry, rather than Lescott
The oversease names being mentioned such as Puyol and Lucio are all very well, but it is guesswork how they would adapt to the PL and the language thing would hinder their role as a leader
SO lets keep pestering Chelsea over JT with Matthew Upson as stand by
ps my only reservation with Upson is his initials
jackblue, Prescot (07/07/2009 at 09:45)