Football Spy: CITY BEAT MOYES TO LAND JO; EXCLUSIVE.

Byline: By ALAN NIXON

MANCHESTER CITY have won the race to sign CSKA Moscow's brilliant Brazilian Jo in an pounds 18million record deal.

The 21-year-old striker was at Thaksin Shinawatra's club yesterday for talks and a medical ahead of a sensational transfer coup by the Thai owner.

The City supremo moved in fast after Everton boss David Moyes tried to beat him to Jo's signature - and frantic calls set up the deal, which will be subject to a work permit application.

City have been chasing Jo for months and believe the newlycapped star will be allowed into the country - mainly because of the amount of money they are investing in him, which will be a major part of their case for a permit.

Jo is also controversially partowned by investors, with City able to deal with them to broker the transfer.

Shinawatra will be doing the deal in staged payments, which will help sit him into their budget, but he had to agree to the terms quickly because of the Everton interest.

It will be a bittersweet deal for Sven Goran Eriksson, who is a big fan of Jo and yet will be leaving City shortly once Shinawatra finds the money to pay him off.

Jo will obviously go into the side under the next management team and the fact that he is a Brazilian will only encourage speculation that fellow countrymen Luis Felipe Scolari is also to follow as the next boss.

The final price will make Jo the biggest capture in City's history - although details of exactly how it will be paid are bound to be kept a closely-guarded secret.

Swede Eriksson has advertised his availability to Serie A clubs by heaping praise on the way they play.

He said: "Italian football is still the best."

The ex-Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio coach would return to Serie A "if asked".

CAPTION(S):

CITY SUPERSTAR Brazil star Jo will be the club's biggest ever signing if Shinawatra can pull off the deal