City agree £7m fee for Fowler
A club that has traditionally lived in the shadow of Manchester United is now on the verge of assembling a £20m strike force.
Fowler is set to link up with £13m man Nicolas Anelka should he agree personal terms and pass a medical.
These are exciting times for City, who are hoping a move to a new stadium next season will coincide with European football.
The arrival of Fowler from Leeds would only increase the expectation levels. City have agreed a fee in the region of £7m for the England international and if he can repeat Anelka's feats in the coming months, City fans are in for a treat.
Anelka has weighed in 10 goals following his move from Paris St Germain after a spell on loan at Liverpool last season.
Should Fowler sign on then manager Kevin Keegan will be top-heavy with strikers.
Shaun Goater and Darren Huckerby have flitted in and out of the side while Jon Macken and Paulo Wanchope remain sidelined through injury.
Goater scored in the victory over Leeds at the weekend but his days could be numbered at Maine Road.
Bolton yesterday flatly denied they had made a move for him. Huckerby has failed to live up to his early potential while Wanchope has struggled with form as well as fitness.
Only Macken looks reasonably safe, as at 25 he is the youngest of the strikers.
Keegan knows that if they are to kick on for Europe he needs quality players.
Fowler, known as one of the best natural strikers in the English game, could be just the man to spark that drive.
Fowler's advisor George Scott had talks with Manchester City chairman David Bernstein late last night.
Scott is currently out of the country on holiday but will return to begin discussions on Fowler's personal terms at Maine Road.
City boss Kevin Keegan was strongly linked with a move for 27-year-old Fowler over the weekend and is now closer to landing his man and creating an exciting strike pairing of Fowler and Anelka.
Leeds boss Terry Venables admitted before Saturday's defeat against City at Maine Road that he would have to bring more money in through sales before he could buy during the transfer window.
And although he stressed he would prefer to keep Fowler, it seems likely that selling him is the price he has to pay to bring in new players.
Fowler appeared as a second-half substitute for Leeds during Saturday's 2-1 defeat and got a great reception from the City fans when he was introduced.
If the Fowler deal goes through, it will be the fifth major departure from Elland Road since Venables replaced David O'Leary as manager.
After failing to qualify for the Champions League for the second successive year, Leeds were forced to reduce mounting debts and Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Keane and Lee Bowyer have all been sold, with Olivier Dacourt out on loan to Roma until the end of the season, when a permanent deal is expected to be sealed.
Now Fowler, who joined Leeds in November 2001 for £11million, seems set to follow them through the exit door with Venables hoping the fee enables him to move on his transfer targets, with Brazilian midfielder Kleberson thought to be top of his wanted list.
When Venables arrived he had six strikers (Fowler, Keane, Mark Viduka, Alan Smith, Michael Bridges and Harry Kewell) and Fowler's departure would reduce that to four with Bridges sidelined by injury for at least the rest of this season.
Fowler has spent most of this season injured after undergoing a hip operation in the summer following his return from the World Cup finals, where he appeared in England's 3-0 win over Denmark.
He returned to action for Leeds in December and has hit two goals against Bolton and Sunderland since in nine appearances.
But he started just two games Bolton and Southampton as he fought his way back to full match fitness.
In total, Fowler has played in 32 games and scored 14 goals for Leeds since joining the club from Liverpool.
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