Manchester: Injury-jinxed Owen Hargreaves is poised to finalize his shock move to Manchester City after the former Manchester United midfielder passed a stringent medical with the Premier League big-spenders.
The 30-year-old is due to complete a highly-incentivised one-year pay-as-you-play deal with City after becoming a free agent following his release by arch-rivals United, where he managed to play just 39 times in four years due to knee problems. Surgery on both knees restricted the 30-year-old former Bayern Munich player to just four appearances in the last three years.
It is understood that the former England international - who underwent a three-hour medical at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hospital on Tuesday - will receive a relatively basic salary that will be dwarfed by his new colleagues, with his new deal heavily linked to the amount of appearances he makes for Roberto Mancini's team.
Hargreaves has been linked with former club Bayern Munich, Tottenham and West Brom since he was released by United manager Alex Ferguson following the expiry of his Old Trafford contract, and left even though he offered to play for the Premier League champions for free.
The former England international was unable to find a club before the season started and posted videos on YouTube to prove his fitness.
Hargreaves, who has suffered with acute tendinitis problems since heading to Old Trafford in a 21.4-million-Euro deal with Bayern Munich, will be able to put his past experience to good use at City as the club prepares for its first Champions League campaign, a competition he won during his spell with the Bundesliga side.
The FA Cup winners are keen to intensify competition for places as they pursue honours on four fronts and will be without Yaya Toure for a month in January and February as he represents Ivory Coast in the African Nations Cup.
With Mancini seeking a back-up to defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong, City have been linked with Real Madrid's Fernando Gago, Roma's Daniele de Rossi and AC Milan's Dutch international Mark van Bommel, but the move for Hargreaves has been welcomed by England defender Joleon Lescott.
"People ask if it represents a gamble but the club know what they are doing, Owen knows what he is doing."
"He has plenty of experience in the Champions League so it will be good for the squad," Lescott told reporters. "He is a great professional so it can only be good for the club."
"He hasn't played as much as he would have liked over the last couple of seasons but the medical team we have is very good and very strong. If we can get him fit, I'm sure it won't be very long before he is back to his best. He will be a player with a point to prove after his injuries."
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