Manchester City are closing in on Werder Bremen midfielder Mesut Ozil.
The Independent says City are eager to have a deal agreed to sign the 21-year-old German phenomenon Ozil before the World Cup finals as competition heats up in English football for the player considered to be one of the major catches of the summer transfer window.
City are understood to have had preliminary talks with Werder Bremen about the German national of Turkish descent who they regard as the ideal player to fill their left-sided role next season, with Martin Petrov and Craig Bellamy likely to leave.