Thaksin says Man City eye Adriano swap, securitisation

By Dominic Whiting

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Manchester City are looking to do a swap deal for Inter Milan's Brazilian striker Adriano and bring in a new midfielder during the January transfer window, club chairman Thaksin Shinawatra said on Friday.

"We're looking to see whether we'll do a swap deal or not," Thaksin told reporters in Hong Kong.

"Adriano was a top player, but he lost form when his father died, and he put on weight," added Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile in London after being ousted by a military coup last year. "Now he's returning to form".

City, who are fifth in the Premier League after Thaksin brought in Sven-Goran Eriksson as coach and funded a splash in the transfer market, have also targeted a midfielder.

Thaksin did not identify the player, who would eventually replace German midfielder Dietmar Hamman.

"Hamman is getting old," Thaksin said. "We're looking at a new midfielder who we think will play very well with Elano," he said, referring to City's Brazilian playmaker.

"We're going to play in a classic style."

In a later interview with Reuters, Thaksin said he was also considering securitising revenue such as gate receipts.