Manchester City move closer to deal for Samuel Eto'o

Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o could soon be joing the Manchester City project at Eastlands. Photograph: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images

Manchester City's chances of signing Samuel Eto'o appeared to have increased last night when the Barcelona president Joan Laporta admitted that the Catalan club was open to offers for the Cameroon striker.

Eto'o has only one year left to run on his contract at the Camp Nou and Barcelona have not yet offered him an extension. There are no plans to present him with a new deal and Eto'o is understood to be prepared to see out his contract and leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

He would be able to negotiate formally with other clubs from 1 January 2010. But with Barcelona searching for a new striker, both the coach Pep Guardiola and sporting director Txiki Beguiristain believe that it would be beneficial for him to depart this summer.

Laporta, who personally signed Eto'o and has been his greatest defender, particularly during the Cameroonian's clashes with the Brazilian Ronaldinho, has accepted that it is time for him to move on – and his comments, during which he described Eto'o as "much sought after" can be read as a thinly-disguised call for clubs to prepare bids for the striker.

He said: "It would be lovely if Samuel could finish his career here. But the market is very dynamic and there could be surprises in store. Eto'o is one of those players for whom you get important offers."

This is the second time Barcelona have attempted to offload the Cameroonian. Last summer Guardiola announced publicly that it would be "better" for the striker to move on and the club searched for a buyer, even going so far as to open talks with a club in Uzbekistan. No clubs came in with a satisfactory offer and eventually Eto'o stayed. Having won over Guardiola and his team-mates, who pleaded with the manager to give him a second chance, he finished the season with a treble and 30 La Liga goals.