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Agent: Man City close to Huntelaar signing

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's agent claims Manchester City were leading the chase for the Dutch star last month, but Ajax chose to keep him until June.

Vincenzo Morabito, the player's representative, has also admitted the salaries on offer in England and Spain mean the Holland international is unlikely to move to Italy.

The 24-year old is set to leave the Amsterdam ArenA in the summer and, with 59 goals in just 70 games for Ajax, there should be no shortage of suitors.

He told Il Romanista: "Juventus do not want the player any more, they're focusing on Palermo's Amauri. Milan and Inter do not have a great need for attackers so that is why he could move to Roma.

"You have to realise there is also interest from English teams. For example, Manchester City wanted him in January but Ajax preferred to keep him and weigh up any requests in June. Dutch players tend to prefer England, mainly because of the language.

"But those who have come to Italy have a very important history and the Italian league is at the top so I wouldn't exclude any speculation at this moment. We haven't had any contact from Roma, so talk of him moving there is still premature.

"That said, Italian salaries are less competitive than English or Spanish ones. You only have to look at how so many footballers have set themselves up in the Premier League these past few months.

"But you also have to consider that the best Ajax players get around a million euros a season so Roma's salary cap (2.5 million euros) is competitive in this case."

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