Roque Santa Cruz has praised the club's ambition for signing world-class footballer, David Silva. The striker, who is currently on World Cup duty with Paraguay, was rumoured to be a makeweight in the deal for the Valencia winger.

But the Blues have now reached an agreement to bring the Spanish winger to Eastlands on a four-year deal without Santa Cruz having to move the other way.

Roque Santa Cruz insists he was not contacted personally about any possible switch and he now wants to focus on his country's historic World Cup quarter-final clash with Spain

Manchester City's forgotten man Roque Santa Cruz says the club underperformed this season, but expects a flurry of summer signings to bolster a title charge next term.

The 28-year-old striker saw City miss out on a coveted Champions League berth with a fifth-placed League finish, despite the enormous investment of billionaire owner Sheik Mansour.

'It has been a very tough season with a lot of new players,' he said. 'A new team has been built up. We didn't achieve what we expected and of course we can't say that we are happy.

Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz has described Saturday's derby clash with local rivals United as a Cup final.

United will be battling to stay in the hunt for a fourth straight Premier League title at Eastlands having fallen four points behind league leaders Chelsea with four games left.

"It's a big game for everyone," Santa Cruz told Sky Sports News. "It's big for them because they're in the title race and big for us because we're going for fourth spot.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes that striker Roque Santa Cruz could be out of action for the next month with the calf injury that saw him limp out of Saturday's defeat at Everton after only four minutes.

The Paraguayan missed three games over Christmas with the same problem. Mancini does not believe that the problem will require surgery, but he is clearly concerned about the player's absence.

Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz is injured again because the club rushed him back into action, according to his doctor Jose Manuel Sanchez.

The striker limped off after just eight minutes of his comeback from a calf problem against Everton. And the 28-year-old's doctor maintains that City did not give his patient enough time to get over the problem.

"This time, Roque is not injured in his left knee," Sanchez said, according to the News of the World.

The side assembled by former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes was believed to be slowly disbanded during January, as Espanyol were rumored to offer Roque Santa Cruz a temporary move away from Eastlands.

However, the Paraguayan hitman's agent, Jan Van Baal, has refuted the allegation that his client is pursuing a loan move, and that the outcast striker will continue to push for a first-team role under new boss Roberto Mancini.

Mancini is also eager to keep Roque Santa Cruz who has been strongly linked with a move to Espanyol.

The Paraguay striker has been struggling with a calf injury and is yet to feature under the new City boss but Mancini is hoping to be able to count on him for Monday night's trip to Blackburn.

"It would be a big game for Rocky as Blackburn are his old club, but we will have to see if he is OK," he said. "Roque is most important for us, and I do not want to lose him. He was injured for 15 days and we missed him. For me, he is important to the team."

Sport.co.uk can confirm that Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz will not be leaving Eastlands during the January transfer window. Reports in The Sun newspaper suggested Spanish La Liga side Espanyol were interested in signing the player on loan until the end of the season, however, in an exclusive interview with Sport.co.uk Santa Cruz’s agent Jan Van Baal confirmed that his client is happy at Manchester City and will not be leaving during the January window.