Manchester City have been told they can sign Inter Milan strike-ace Adriano for £10 million.

The Mirror says City boss Sven Goran Eriksson is hunting an extra front man after Bulgarian Valeri Bojinov suffered a cruciate ligament injury which will rule him out for five months.

Eriksson has been linked with Benfica's Nuno Gomes but has become aware that the 25-year-old Adriano has dropped to the bottom of Inter coach Roberto Mancini's pecking order after a spectacular disciplinary fall-out.

City have already been contacted by Inter sporting director Marco Branca but now face the dilemma of taking a huge gamble on a player whose behaviour has careered out of control or opting for a safer bet.