If Thaksin Shinawatra is concerned about the corruption charges facing him in his native Thailand, the new Manchester City chairman gave anything but that impression as he made a visit to the club yesterday to outline to the players his vision for the future and remind Sven-G?ran Eriksson, the new manager, that the funds are in place with which to mount a belated, if aggressive, summer spending spree.
Eriksson will hold Thaksin to his word in the next day or two when the manager uses just short of a quarter of his estimated £40 million transfer kitty to fund a bid for Rolando Bianchi, the highly rated Reggina striker.
Contrary to the Italian club’s claim yesterday that a “preliminary agreement” was in place for City to sign Bianchi for €13 million (about £8.8 million), Eriksson had still to make a bid for the player last night, although a deal is expected to be struck this week.
Bianchi, 24, was the fourth top goalscorer in Serie A last season as his 18 goals helped Reggina to avoid relegation but he has indicated a willingness to move to England.
Eriksson hopes to make a couple of signings before the squad flies to Sweden on Sunday for a training camp. Yakubu Ayegbeni, the £12 million-rated Middlesbrough striker, figures prominently in his thoughts.
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Thaksin spent the morning meeting with Eriksson and the players before returning to London, where the former Prime Minister of Thailand has been living since he was ousted from office in a bloodless coup last September. A club source said: “Thaksin spent about an hour and a half speaking with the players. He told them that we had a decent, sound squad that he was looking to strengthen and talked about his future plans.”
Thaksin’s £81.6 million takeover offer for City was declared wholly unconditional last week, but the deal continues to be overshadowed by events in his homeland. Thailand’s Supreme Court announced yesterday that it would convene on August 14 – the day before City’s second Barclays Premier League match of the season, at home to Derby County – to hear corruption charges against Thaksin and Pojaman, his wife.
The couple, who deny any wrongdoing, are accused of illegally influencing the purchase of a prime plot of real estate for 772 million Baht (about £12 million) four years ago. If convicted, Thaksin and his wife face up to 13 years in jail and a heavy fine.
Noppadol Pattama, Thaksin’s solicitor, responded yesterday by saying that his client would not be returning to Thailand. Thaksin has vowed not to return until after the democratic elections in December, claiming that he would fear for his life if he went back.
“Both of them will fight the case, but as of now the two defendants will not return to fight the case on the grounds that the judicial process is still being interfered with,” Noppadol said.
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Once Thaksin completes his buyout of City, he will be subject to a “fit and proper persons” test by the FA Premier League, which has the power to bar people convicted of corruption domestically or in a foreign court. Thaksin, who has had almost £1.3 billion of his assets frozen, claims that the charges against him are groundless.
City will play two pre-season friendlies in Sweden, against Orgryte, next Wednesday in Varberg, and Carlstad United three days later.
Better late than never
— In Rolando Bianchi, Manchester City have acquired a striker who has developed late as a goalscorer.
— He supplied 18 goals in 37 Italian league matches last season to help Reggina to avoid relegation from Serie A, having previously scored only five in 68 league appearances.
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— The 6ft 2in forward is strong in the air and has a fierce shot with both feet.
— He began his career at Atalanta in 2001