Manchester City expect to sign £10.5m Jerome Boateng before World Cup

Manchester City expect to complete the £10.5m signing of the Hamburg defender Jerome Boateng before the World Cup but will only pursue a second raid on the Bundesliga, for Edin Dzeko, if Wolfsburg lower their asking price for the Bosnian centre-forward. City are keen on Dzeko as a £34m buyout clause in his Wolfsburg contract has just expired but they are not prepared to meet Wolfsburg's valuation, which remains around the previous buyout mark and will consider alternative targets unless a figure under £30m is agreed. City are due to hold talks with representatives of the Valencia forward David Silva this week, with the Spain international valued at £30m by his employers. One deal, however, that is close to completion is that of Germany international defender Boateng. The 21-year-old told Bild magazine: "I am going to sign before leaving for the World Cup and the deal will be completed. It has been decided that I am moving there." Boateng revealed Roberto Mancini, the City manager, played an instrumental role in his decision to leave Hamburg for the Premier League, saying: "He came with two representatives to Hamburg and we chatted for one or two hours. He convinced me to make the transfer. He believes that I will definitely need a few months to get settled in once in England, but that he sees so much potential in me that he will improve me. Even if many people say I am going to struggle to make the breakthrough, I am confident that I will. I am not afraid of anybody." Another factor in Boateng's departure from Germany, he claimed, is the media demands on his family following the foul by his half-brother, Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince, that ruled the national team captain Michael Ballack out of the World Cup. "It disturbs me the way our family name is being dragged around in public and my family is not being left in peace," he said. "It is not on that my big brother George suddenly has cameras on his doorstep and he is being forced to stay indoors. This has overstepped the mark. It has been ridiculous."