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Stevan Jovetic heading for Manchester City, announce Fiorentina• Fiorentina say agreement reached over transfer
• Striker Jovetic a long-standing target for City
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The Guardian, Friday 19 July 2013
Stevan Jovetic, right, seen here playing for Montenegro against England, is set to join Manchester City. Photograph: Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters
Fiorentina have reached an agreement to sell the Montenegrin striker Stevan Jovetic to Manchester City, the Serie A club have confirmed.
The 23-year-old has scored 35 league goals in five seasons with Fiorentina, who finished fourth in Serie A last season, and it appears City's lengthy pursuit of the versatile forward has come to fruition.
A statement on the Italian club's official Twitter account, @ACF_Fiorentina, read: "An agreement has been reached with Manchester City Football Club for the permanent sale of the player Stevan Jovetic."
City are also expected to sign the striker Alvaro Negredo from Sevilla in the coming days.
Jovetic – who is as comfortable playing as a lone striker as he is in front of the midfield – finished the 2012-13 season with 13 league goals having scored 14 in the previous campaign. The Montenegro international had missed the entire 2010-11 season in Florence after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in pre-season training.
City, meanwhile, suffered a second successive defeat in South Africa, a late penalty giving AmaZulu a 2-1 win in Durban. Brian Kidd took charge of City after the manager, Manuel Pellegrini, flew home to Chile for family reasons.
City produced a much better performance than Sunday's 2-0 defeat by SuperSport but fell behind to a 20th-minute Bongani Ndulula goal. James Milner equalised six minutes later and the Premier League team dominated after that only for Abdul Razak to concede a penalty which was dispatched by Carlington Nyadombo with seconds remaining.