City poised for defender swoop

Manchester City are close to signing Argentine defender Pablo Zabaleta for £6.45m after matching the player's buy-out clause.

The right-sided star, who currently plays his football for Espanyol in La Liga, is now expected to complete a move to Eastlands before the transfer window closes at midnight on Monday.

A statement on the Spanish club's website has claimed they wanted to keep the player, but that City matched the buy-out clause in the 23-year-old's contract.

Zabaleta, a member of the victorious Argentine Olympic squad in Beijing, has been in Barcelona for the last three years and will offer Mark Hughes even more options at the back.

Even if the defender signs before Sunday's game at Sunderland, its unlikely Zabaleta will play as he is due to team up with with his national team this weekend ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru.