We've signed Eto'o, say Uzbekistani minnows

Uzbekistan League side Kuruvchi claim to have reached a deal to sign Barcelona forward Samuel Eto'o - though the Catalan giants have laughed off the news.

Eto'o, who has been told he is not part of coach Pep Guardiola's plans, is expected to leave the Nou Camp this summer and has been linked with moves to Serie A and the Premier League.

On Monday morning, though, the Uzbekistan League leaders announced in an official statement on their website, www.pfc-kuruvchi.com, that they had landed the 27-year-old forward on a six-month deal.

The news was confirmed by Kuruvchi sporting director Bahtier Babayev, who told PA Sport that Eto'o will sign with the club later this week on a contract to be determined by performances.

"Eto'o will arrive in Tashkent on Thursday and he will sign a contract with our club, at least up until the end of 2008," Babayev said.

"The term of the contract will depend on our performance in the AFC Champions League. We will play Saipa in the quarter-finals and Eto'o is our main purchase before the knockout stage of the tournament.

"If we can agree with the player, he will continue to play for our club in the future."

Babayev also insisted that the seemingly unlikely transfer had been made possible due to good relations between the Primera Liga side and the Tashkent club.

"The defining moment of the transfer was not money, but the friendly mutual relations between the management of our club and Barcelona," he said.

"The personal friendship between presidents of the clubs has noticeably lowered the transfer fee."

The official club statement which confirmed the transfer read: "(Kuruvchi have) signed a contract with Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona.

"The striker will arrive in Tashkent on July 17 and will play in the second half of the championship of Uzbekistan."

However, despite the Uzbekistan club's insistence that the transfer will go ahead, Barcelona denied any knowledge of the move.

An official spokesperson for the Nou Camp side told PA Sport: "Nobody at the club knows anything about this. I don't think it's very likely."