Manchester City are launching a bid for Barcelona striker Thierry Henry. The Times says the former Arsenal forward is next on their list of superstar targets after the failed bid to sign Kaká from AC Milan.

City have not approached directly Henry or his club, Barcelona, but, undeterred by their frustrating experience in Italy, they have identified the 31-year-old as a player who fits their need for an iconic signing to raise their commercial profile as well as their prospects on the pitch. Preliminary moves have been made to gauge his availability and whether he would want to return to English football as part of a broad-reaching "project" similar to that which they had hoped to sell to Kaká.