City No2 welcomes £53m trio

GOOD BUY GUYS ... Alvaro Negredo, Stevan Jovetic and Jesus Navas join City's Hong Kong adventure

BRIAN KIDD has told Manchester City’s title rivals: We have the best squad in the Premier League.

And the Etihad No 2 believes the club have a four-strong pack of strikers who can fire them to glory at home and in Europe.

City, in Hong Kong for the Premier League Asia Trophy, yesterday welcomed three new faces.

Winger Jesus Navas plus strikers Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic flew in from
England to meet up with their team-mates, who had jetted in separately from the first leg of the club’s tour in South Africa.

Kidd said: “They look very exciting players. They look really talented and obviously will make an impact.”

Frontmen Negredo and Jovetic will fill the gaps left by Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli while Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko are still at the club.

Kidd said: “In the Premier League and Champions League you need four forwards so you can alternate. I wouldn’t swap our squad for any in the Premier League.”

City have splashed out £83.4million this summer. Negredo cost £16.4m from Sevilla and the Spanish side were also raided for Navas at £15m.

Fiorentina took £22m for Jovetic and Fernandinho arrived early in the summer from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30m. Skipper Vincent Kompany believes the club have got it right in the transfer market after missing out on their top targets a year ago and failing to land any major silverware.

The Belgian defender said: “They are important players for us. We needed strengthening and we have done that. We can compete on every front.”

City expect boss Manuel Pellegrini to rejoin the squad here this afternoon following the death of his mother.

The Chilean left the club’s training camp in South Africa on Thursday and dashed back to Santiago to be at the bedside of mum Silvia.

She passed away over the weekend and the 59-year-old stayed on to attend yesterday’s funeral.

Pellegrini should be in the dugout for tomorrow’s game with South China.