City launch £1m bid for Stelios

Manchester City have lodged a formal £1m (€1.4m) offer for Bolton midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos.

The offer came just an hour before City and Bolton were due to open their Premiership campaigns against West Brom and Aston Villa respectively.

City are hoping for a quick response and believe they have a good chance of landing the 31-year-old, a Euro 2004 winner with Greece.

“We contacted Bolton today and made a substantial offer for the player and are awaiting a response,” said City spokesman Paul Tyrrell.

Giannakopoulos was named on the bench by Bolton boss Sam Allardyce for this afternoon's Villa Park encounter.

The Trotters have been trying to reach agreement with the former Olympiacos player, whose contract expires next summer and who has previously been linked with Liverpool.

And, although Bolton chairman Phil Gartside continues to insist he will remain at the Reebok Stadium, the lure of Eastlands may prove too much.

“Stelios is under contract until the end of the season and negotiations are progressing well in respect of him signing an improved contract,” Gartside told www.bwfc.co.uk.

“The speculation is unsettling the player and all he wants to do is concentrate on playing for Bolton in the Premiership and the UEFA Cup.”

Pearce turned his attentions to Giannakopoulos after failing in his attempt to sign Fulham’s Steed Malbranque.

With youngster Lee Croft lacking experience, City need a right-sided replacement for now-departed England international Shaun Wright-Phillips.

While City cannot offer Giannakopoulos the European action he would get at Bolton this season, with average attendances double that of their north-west neighbours, they clearly believe they can offer more hope for the future.

And, with the majority of Wright-Phillips’ £21m (€30.6m) transfer fee still unspent, have the funds available to significantly increase the Greek star’s wages.