City confirm Jo capture

Brazilian striker arrives at Eastlands

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 2nd July 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

City confirm Jo capture

Jo: Big future

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Manchester City have completed the signing of Brazilian striker Jo for an undisclosed fee from CSKA Moscow.

The 21-year-old becomes Mark Hughes' first signing as City boss and has agreed a four-year deal at Eastlands.

The youngster scored 44 goals in 77 games for CSKA since joining from Corinthians in 2005 and Hughes is delighted to have secured the services of a player with limitless potential.

Excited

"Once I became Manchester City manager and the prospect of brining Jo to the club was feasible I wanted to make sure that it happened," he said.

"He's an outstanding young player and we're very excited by the acquisition.

"We feel he's very much the type of player we hope to attract to Manchester City. He's the right profile, technically he's excellent and we feel he has the physical presence to cope with the trials of a Premier League season. We're sure he'll be a huge success here.

"He's got a lot of experience. He's won trophies at his previous club and he's used to playing in big games and games with significance.

"We want to push the club forward and raise the profile of the club. The acquisition of quality players will help in that respect."

Options

The deal to bring Jo to England smashed City's transfer record and the forward admits that other clubs were in the race for his signature.

"I decided to come to Manchester City because they showed most interest in me even though I had other options," he said.

"Once I spoke to the manager, he showed great interest in me and I was very pleased to come.

"One of the other clubs to show an official interest was Valencia in Spain and I know from the press that there were other clubs interested, but only Valencia contacted CSKA."

Settle

Jo also revealed that, while the Premier League is one of the toughest divisions in the world, he expects to adjust quickly to life in the English top flight.

"The Premier League is one of the hardest in the world but I hope that with the help of my colleagues and my manager that I can score goals," he said.

"Probably it will take a little bit of time but I'm sure I will get there."