Toure close to Man City switch

Arsenal defender Kolo Toure is reported to have passed a medical on Wednesday ahead of his proposed transfer to Manchester City.

The 28-year-old Ivory Coast international left Arsenal’s training camp in Austria earlier this week after City obtained permission to talk to him about a 15 million pounds move.

Reports in England claim Toure has now completed a medical at Eastlands and he is expected to seal his move once financial details have been agreed with Arsenal.

City manager Mark Hughes turned to Toure after Chelsea captain John Terry rejected a move to Eastlands and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who signed Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax in June, decided to accept the bid.

If Toure’s move goes through he will earn around 100,000 pounds a week and become City’s sixth signing of the close-season, joining former Arsenal team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Gareth Barry and goalkeeper Stuart Taylor.

Toure struggled to find his best form last season after returning from the African Nations Cup and found himself played at right-back before being briefly dropped.

The Ivorian, who arrived at Arsenal in 2002, was a member of the ‘Invincibles’ team that went through the entire 38-game Premier League campaign in 2003-04 without losing a match.