Manchester City set up £40m deal for Cole

MANCHESTER CITY have offered to make Joe Cole the Premier League’s best-paid player with a four-year contract worth nearly £40million.

Cole will become a free agent this summer after failing to agree a new deal at Chelsea and City have jumped to the top of the queue of clubs chasing him by tabling a whopping £180,000-a-week deal.

That will blow away interest from neighbours Manchester United, whom they meet today at Eastlands in the most important Manchester derby for 42 years.

City boss Roberto Mancini said: “I think we can become one of Europe’s top clubs next season.”