SOCCER:Arsene Wenger yesterday took the first step towards replacing Thierry Henry by signing the little-known Croatian striker Eduardo da Silva from Dinamo Zagreb. The Brazilian-born 24-year-old has been the leading goalscorer in Croatia over the past two seasons but has no experience in any of Europe's top leagues.
He is regarded, however, as one of the most promising strikers in Europe and will cost Arsenal around £8 million. The Dinamo Zagreb president, Mirko Barisic, yesterday claimed that a fee of €24 million had been agreed but Arsenal say the figure is substantially less. Eduardo, who scored at the Emirates when Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in last season's Champions League, is expected in London today for his medical.
"I am excited and happy at the same time and also very proud that I am going to play for such a big club," he said. "Every football player wants to play for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United or Arsenal one day and so do I. I want to progress in my career, but it will be hard to leave Dinamo after eight years. I will miss the club, the guys. I will be back one day but now I want to accept a new challenge."
The signing of Eduardo does not signal the end of Wenger's attempt to rebuild Arsenal's attack and he is understood to still be interested in Bolton's Nicolas Anelka and Newcastle's Obefemi Martins.
The agent of Cesc Fabregas, meanwhile, has denied reports suggesting the Arsenal midfielder is ready to follow Henry to Spain.
Fernando Torres last night finalised a £27 million deal taking him from Atletico Madrid to Liverpool. Sources in Liverpool yesterday suggested the 23-year-old had verbally agreed a four-year deal and the move could be made official today, subject to a medical.
The two clubs have also agreed a deal for Luis Garcia to return to the Vicente Calderon, where he played during the 2002-03 season. Torres is expected to earn around £90,000 a week at Anfield, putting him in the same wage bracket as Xabi Alonso and Jamie Carragher.
Sven-Goran Eriksson flew into England yesterday expecting to be confirmed as Manchester City's manager within the next 48 hours. The former England head coach will quickly be followed by Tord Grip, who will form part of his backroom staff alongside Roland Andersson, currently the assistant manager to the Swedish national team.
Eriksson will be installed as soon as City's new owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, has built the 75 per cent stake necessary to take the club off the stock market. Thaksin's move into power was described as imminent last night and, if everything goes according to plan, the new manager will be in place by the time the players report back for pre-season training tomorrow.
Guardian Service
