Hughes ready to wait for Eto'o - for now

The Manchester City boss says he will be patient in his bid to sign Samuel Eto'o but will not be drawn into a protracted transfer.

Samuel Eto'o has offers from both Barcelona and Manchester City.

The Manchester City manager Mark Hughes say he will be patient in his attempts to sign Samuel Eto'o, but warned the striker he will not be drawn into a protracted transfer saga while the Barcelona striker decides where he will play football next season. The Eastlands outfit confirmed Wednesday they had tabled a bid for the Catalunya club's prolific frontman, believed to be in the region of £25 million (Dh150m). Hughes said he was prepared to exercise patience in trying to conclude a deal as long as the deal showed signs of progression. The former Blackburn Rovers boss admitted he would have no qualms about withdrawing the offer and setting his sights on other targets if talks stalled. "If we get to a situation where we feel that things aren't going to happen and we feel the process is stalling and we can't move it forward then that's the time we walk away," said Hughes. "We've done that before. "We've lodged a bid for Samuel Eto'o, that's already been reported. "We have targeted players we think can help us and he's certainly someone we have a lot of respect for and we feel he can help us. "There's always an element of frustration when you can't conclude deals very quickly, but we'll give every deal the patience it deserves. However, Barca, who won a historic treble of La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champions League titles last term with Eto'o spearheading their fabled attack, have attempted to ward off interest by offering the Cameroon international a two-year contract extension. "We obviously made an offer to Barcelona and now there seems to be a situation between the player and his club," added Hughes. "We're not involved in that. That needs to be resolved between the player and his club. "Patience has been mentioned and we'll all have to be patient." Hughes also confirmed he was still hoping to sign Carlos Tevez after the Argentina striker's loan expired at neighbours Manchester United. "Carlos Tevez is another player I have huge admiration for," Hughes added. "We'll see what happens but at this stage it's very early in our discussions with anybody."

[e-mail] *With Agencies