By Chris Burton Last updated: 2nd July 2008
Jo: Big future
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.
"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."
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."
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."
Prem To Finish In Top 4 2008/09 Win Outright: Man. City 11/2| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 6th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Fulham vs Man City |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Wigan |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | Bolton vs Chelsea |
| 15:00 | Hull vs Middlesbrough |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs Stoke |
| 17:30 | Man Utd vs Sunderland |
| Sunday 7th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | West Brom vs Portsmouth |
| 16:00 | Everton vs Aston Villa |
| Monday 8th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | West Ham vs Tottenham |
| Saturday 13th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Middlesbrough vs Arsenal |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Liverpool vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Everton |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs West Brom |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Blackburn |
| 17:30 | Tottenham vs Man Utd |
| Sunday 14th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Portsmouth vs Newcastle |
| 16:00 | Chelsea vs West Ham |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Monday 1st December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 0 - 0 West Ham | |
| Sunday 30th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Portsmouth 3 - 2 Blackburn | |
| Tottenham 0 - 1 Everton | |
| Chelsea 1 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 1 - 4 Bolton | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 0 Fulham | |
| Wigan 2 - 1 West Brom | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Stoke 1 - 1 Hull | |
| Monday 24th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 0 Everton | |
| Sunday 23rd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 1 - 0 Blackburn | |
| Sunderland 0 - 1 West Ham | |
| Saturday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 3 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Portsmouth 2 - 2 Hull | |
| Stoke 1 - 0 West Brom | |
| Chelsea 0 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 0 Man Utd | |
| Liverpool 0 - 0 Fulham | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 3 Bolton | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 15 | 34 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 15 | 33 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 14 | 28 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 15 | 26 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 15 | 25 |
| 6 | Hull City | 15 | 23 |
Andy Gray says there's no way you could describe Roy Keane's Sunderland reign as a failure.
A snap-shot of the key moments and low points from Roy Keane's footballing career.
Roy Keane has left Sunderland and skysports.com looks back at his career.
Sam Allardyce has told Sunderland that he would be interested in discussing the vacant manager's seat at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn believes accepting Roy Keane's resignation was 'the best thing to do' for the club.
Martin O'Neill was pleased after seeing Aston Villa reach the last 32 of the Uefa Cup on Thursday.
Sunderland have confirmed that Roy Keane has left his role as manager, with the club 'reluctantly accepting' his decision.
Cesc Fabregas says he is 100 per cent committed to Arsenal, saying his future lies at the club.