Boateng is new City acquisition

Manchester City completed the first of an anticipated six summer signings yesterday by announcing the Germany defender's signing on a five-year-deal.

Manchester City completed the first of an anticipated six summer signings yesterday by announcing they have recruited Jerome Boateng, the Germany defender, on a five-year-deal. The 21-year-old will officially become a City player on July 1, after the club, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, agreed a reported fee of ?12.5m (Dh54.9m) with Hamburg, his former club. The arrival of Boateng will cast doubt on the future of Micah Richards and Nedum Onuoha who have been frustrated by their lack of action under Roberto Mancini, the manager. Richards has been linked with a move to Arsenal, the club he supported as a youngster, and Tottenham Hotspur.

Boateng was in Manchester yesterday to confirm the details of the move before jetting off to South Africa to join up with the Germany team. "This is a very good signing for Manchester City and I am pleased to bring Jerome to the club," Mancini told the club's website. "He is a young player who is already of a very high quality, but I think he can continue to improve at City. "He can play a number of positions in defence, which is important. He has proved his ability in Germany and I think he can be a very important player for Manchester City in the Premier League. It's good for Jerome to have agreed terms ahead of the World Cup, so he can now concentrate on playing for Germany. And I will be very interested to see how he gets on in the tournament, before welcoming him back to meet his teammates in pre-season."

Meanwhile, another German, Thomas Hitzlsperger, has joined West Ham from Lazio on a three-year contract. The midfielder returns to the Premier League after a five-year absence. He played for Aston Villa between 2001 and 2005 and becomes Avram Grant's first signing. * Agencies