Sven splashes £16m on players

CROATIA defender Vedran Corluka insists he had no qualms about sacrificing Champions League football to join Manchester City.

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s determination to make up for lost time in the transfer market continued yesterday with three exciting new arrivals to Eastlands.

Having already recruited Basque full-back Javier Garrido and Croatia international Corluka this morning, the former England boss completed the signing of Brazil midfielder Elano from Shakhtar Donetsk for £8 million (€11.9 million).

Eriksson has now made seven new signings since he took over with Rolando Bianchi, Martin Petrov, Gelson Fernandes and Geovanni also moving to the club.

The arrival of millionaire former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has allowed City room to spend freely ahead of the new season.

Elano, 26, and Garrido have agreed four-year deals at Eastlands with Corluka committing for five, subject to a work permit.

Corluka, a defender from Dinamo Zagreb, arrives for an undisclosed fee, although reports from Croatia suggest City have paid about £7 million (€10.4 million) for the 21-year-old.

Elano has been a regular in Brazil squads in recent years and featured in this summer’s victorious Copa America campaign.

Garrido, 22, joins from Real Sociedad for £1.5 million (€2.2 million) after Sociedad’s relegation from Spain’s top flight.

City chief executive Alistair Mackintosh said an “immensely productive morning” had seen “the acquisition of three top-quality players for Manchester City Football Club”.

Further signings are still expected, with Bulgarian striker Valeri Bojinov’s £5.75 million (€8.5 million) arrival to be confirmed soon.