Mark Hughes says once Kaka hears the grand plans for Manchester City, he will have no hesitation in quitting AC Milan and joining the Blues. Milan allowed the Brazilian to talk to City after accepting a £108m (Dh592m) bid for the former world footballer of the year. And Hughes, who stressed he has been involved in discussions all the way through rather than being sidelined as some have suggested, does not feel there will be a problem, claiming: "We are all working to the same end: trying to be successful on a regular basis
"You do that by bringing good players to the club to supplement those we have. "It is not something that will happen overnight and we have to let people understand what we are trying to do and understand where this club will go in the next few years. Once they understand that and recognise the people driving it forward they will become excited by what we can offer." Reduced to bringing in ageing players such as Ronaldinho and, on a short-term loan, David Beckham to bolster their ranks, Milan realise City's bid, which is said to last only until the end of this month's transfer window, represents an opportunity to restore the side to former glories by spending the money on several replacements.
The next few days are likely to be taken up with assessing the former world player of the year's various sponsorship agreements and discovering how easily these can be transferred to England from Italy. Carlo Ancelotti, the Milan coach, hopes the Brazilian will stay at the San Siro. "My hope is to be able to coach Kaka for many more years, but we've got to be aware of the facts and the club's evaluation of the offer presented," he said.
The German side Hamburg said last night that City have bid for the midfielder Nigel de Jong. Portsmouth have had an undisclosed bid accepted for the Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant. Pompey appear to have stolen a march on their rivals for Pennant's signature - with reports suggesting Real Madrid and Milan are also interested. The Wigan manager Steve Bruce confirmed a £14m deal to sell Wilson Palacios to Tottenham has been "virtually agreed". Palacios, 24, has been with Wigan for just over a year after he joined from Deportivo Olimpia in January last year.
Hull have agreed a deal with Manchester United to take the Angola striker Manucho on loan for the rest of the season. West Ham have refused to give Craig Bellamy permission to talk to Tottenham or Manchester City and have offered the Wales striker a new contract. The Benfica forward Ariza Makukula is moving to Bolton on loan after rejecting a move to West Bromwich Albion. The Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has rejected the terms of the contract which was offered to him this week. The Spaniard has refused to commit to the deal because of a disagreement with owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks over his level of control.
* With agencies