Manchester City's owners are serious about prising Gigi Buffon away from Juventus. While Claudio Ranieri, the Juventus coach, joked about the £50 million offer yesterday, The Times says City are prepared to pay whatever it takes - and that extends to wages, with Buffon to be offered £160,000 a week, the same figure that made Robinho the best-paid player in the Premier League when he arrived from Real Madrid.

City sent a delegation to Turin this month to explore the feasibility of such a deal and, although they are not thought to have spoken to the player or his club directly, they believe that they could succeed in securing a deal for the 30-year-old either during the January transfer window or, failing that, next summer.

Mark Hughes, the City manager, is fully aware of the bid to sign Buffon and, despite his initial misgivings about the prospect of having big-name players imposed on him by the owners, is understood to be excited by the possibility of signing the Italy goalkeeper.