MANCHESTER City will have to wait until Roque Santa Cruz returns from holiday to seal the signing of the Blackburn Rovers striker.

Santa Cruz is not expected to return to England until the weekend, so reports that a deal could be completed in the next couple of days are understood to be premature – even though it is believed that City have made progress in their attempts to agree a fee with Rovers.

The Paraguayan has a clause in his contract stating that he is free to leave if Rovers receive a £20m bid by the start of July and, although City are not expected to match that figure, it is understood that any deal is likely to happen before the end of this month.