Aguero set to be City’s record signing

ARGENTINA striker Sergio Aguero already considers himself a Manchester City player and despite the deal not yet being completed he was welcomed as such by delighted fans outside the Etihad Stadium last night.

Despite the high-profile nature of his club-record transfer from Atletico Madrid, the 23-year-old appeared quite at ease in the city which is likely to be his home for the next five years.

Aguero flew in from Buenos Aires, via Heathrow, early yesterday morning and went straight to a private Manchester hospital to undergo his medical.

He then had a brief stop at City’s stadium before deciding lunch was the next most important thing on the agenda and so disappeared for a few hours before returning to the ground in the early evening. After holding discussions with City officials, the son-in-law of Argentina icon Diego Maradona happily signed autographs for the growing crowd of fans who had gathered to see their new hero.

“I’m already a City player. Happy to be in this club & this city,” he wrote on Twitter afterwards. “Thanks everyone for the welcome and reception.”

Aguero is slightly premature in announcing himself as City’s latest superstar but the completion of the deal is not far away, with a few administrative issues set to be wrapped up tomorrow when his transfer will be officially confirmed.

Just after touching down in the north-west earlier in the day, Aguero wrote on Twitter: “Just arrived in Manchester to finalise the details of signing with City. Everything is going very well! I’ll tell you more in a while.”

City’s previous record signing was Robinho, who arrived from Real Madrid for £32.5 million as new owner Sheikh Mansour, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, made a marquee signing to signal his intent just days after taking over in August 2008.

The Aguero deal is believed to be about £35m, which incorporates add-ons — short of the £38m buy-out clause inserted in the new contract the player signed with Atletico in January.

He is reportedly set to agree a five-year contract worth about £200,000 per week — although that will not be a stumbling block for City, who have spent millions revamping the squad and the area around the stadium with much grander plans to come.

With City striker Carlos Tevez adamant he wants to leave to be nearer his wife and two daughters in Argentina, Aguero is seen as the ideal replacement.

Younger than his compatriot by four years, the Atletico star has been a prolific goalscorer in the Primera Division and that is why he became one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe.

Atletico had resigned themselves to the fact they would lose their prized asset when he announced in May, before departing to play for Argentina in the Copa America, that he wanted to leave.

Aguero’s preference was to remain in Spain, with city rivals Real seemingly the most likely destination, but Atletico were keen to resist such a move.

So an offer from City, although Italian club Juventus were also interested, represented a better option for the Madrid side.

Meanwhile it has emerged that Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez spent Tuesday night in hospital after suffering mild concussion during a training session at Red Bull Arena.