Steve McManaman will link up with old team-mate Robbie Fowler at Manchester City after his Real Madrid dream finally came to an end.
City boss Kevin Keegan has taken a plunge on the 31-year-old former England international, whose position at Real became untenable after new coach Carlos Queiroz told the player he had no chance of getting any first team action during the final season of his four-year contract.
Keegan, who earlier in the day had confirmed the £2.5 million capture of Claudio Reyna from Sunderland, will hope McManaman can spark Fowler into life after some lacklustre displays from the former Liverpool striker since his £6 million transfer from Leeds in January.
Providing he comes through a medical today McManaman, who won the last of his 37 England caps against Greece last year, will sign a two-year contract and could be unveiled before tomorrow's encounter with Arsenal.
He will also become Keegan's seventh signing of a hectic summer which has also seen David Seaman, Paul Bosvelt and Michael Tarnat arrive at the club.
Ironically, McManaman scored his first ever goal for Liverpool against City at Maine Road when City ran out 2-1 winners in a League clash at the start of the 1991 season.
After initially enjoying success in Spain, including scoring a goal in the 2000 Champions League final win over Valencia, McManaman has become an increasingly marginalised figure in Madrid.
He was given a rare start against Manchester United at Old Trafford last season but the summer arrival of David Beckham signalled the end of his time at the Bernabeu, where he was picking up an estimated £60,000 a week.
Although he will earn nothing like that figure with City, he will become one of the club's highest earners and his arrival is bound to place a question mark over the first-team chances of promising youngster Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Barry Ferguson, the Scottish footballer of the year, severed his ties with Rangers yesterday by signing a four-year contract with Blackburn Rovers. The Scottish champions responded immediately by beating Celtic and Wolves to the signing of the former Middlesbrough midfielder Emerson and entering the chase for Valencia's John Carew with Everton, Roma and Monaco.
After protracted negotiations, Rangers finally accepted defeat in their bid to hold on to Ferguson when they accepted Blackburn's third offer for the 25-year-old in the space of a week. The fee is believed to be close to the club-record £7.5 million the Lancashire club paid Manchester United for Andy Cole in December 2001.
"I'm more excited about this deal than I ever have been about any other," said Graeme Souness, the Blackburn manager. "Barry is an exceptional player and has all the equipment to become a huge performer in the Premiership. He is a different type of player to Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Steven Gerrard but he will become as influential for Blackburn as each of those players is for their clubs."
Blackburn had to fight off strong competition from Everton for Ferguson's signature. Souness attributed Blackburn's ultimate success to his close links with Rangers' owner, David Murray. "David is the toughest football wheeler-dealer I've come across," said Souness, who is still hoping to sign Lazio's Dino Baggio.
Baggio has impressed on trial this week but signing him depends on loaning out another player - and the Italian and his agents are increasingly impatient.
Leeds signalled their determination to try to hang on to Mark Viduka when they said yesterday they had rejected an offer for the striker from Italy's Internazionale. Viduka has long been linked with a move and Inter inquired about a loan deal after selling Hernan Crespo to Chelsea this week.
Professor John McKenzie, the Leeds chairman, said: "We did receive a ridiculous offer of a loan from Inter but I just turned it down. I made it clear I would sell Mark only if he wanted to go and it would also be at an exceptional price."
Crespo, who is almost certain to make his Chelsea debut at home to Blackburn today, does not set low targets.
He prepared to launch his Premiership career by stating his ambition to see Chelsea established as one of Europe's top clubs within three years and, along with Juan Sebastian Veron, helping to make English football as popular in Argentina as when Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa were at Tottenham.
