City get permission to throw silly money at Silva

I'm off: Silva looks set for England

Valencia have confirmed that Manchester City have been given permission to talk to attacker David Silva.

The Spanish star has long been linked with a move to the Premiership, and has recently been rumoured to prefer a move to England rather than a rival club in Spain. He has already seen David Villa leave the Mestalla for Barcelona this summer but is unlikely to join him.

Chelsea are also said to be fans of the 24 year-old, but City have stolen a march on their rivals, although there is still a long way to go before a deal is concluded.

"As has been said, there has been interest from Manchester City and we have permitted them to talk to the player, but we have reached no agreement and we have not talked about a fee," said Valencia's deputy chairman Javier Gomez.