Manchester City chief Mark Hughes is ready to pursue his interest in Ghana starlet Anthony Annan.

The Blues boss has a dossier on the tough-tackling 21-year-old midfielder and was previously considering tempting the youngster to Ewood Park this summer.

Hughes' switch to City has not cooled the manager's interest in a player that has been grandly dubbed the new Michael Essien in his homeland.

Annan began his career playing for the exotically named Super Rainbow in his homeland but is now eyeing a Premier League pot of gold.

Currently with Norwegian side IK Start, he has recently been out on loan at Stabaek and has been attracting a host of scouts since his eye-catching performances in the African Cup of Nations.

Annan is regarded as the best young midfielder in his country and is also being tracked by Everton, Bolton and Middlesbrough.

Although the Blues have been linked with the arrival of superstar Ronaldinho from Barcelona, Thaksin Shinawatra is keen that Hughes should, where possible, continue the policy of bringing in young players that can be developed.

City are in need of defensive midfield recruits and have also been looking at the more ready made Steve Sidwell, who built a glowing reputation at Reading but then failed to make any impact after a big money switch to Chelsea.

The Blues had to rely heavily on veteran former Germany international Didi Hamann last season to screen the back four and, although they have Swiss star Gelson Fernandes who can do a similar job, Hughes knows that it is an area that needs urgent attention.

A junior and Olympic player for Ghana, Annan was promoted to the Ghana senior side in March last year as a replacement for Chelsea king-pin Essien. His first cap came against Brazil and he impressed so much that he played a prominent role in the side the Nations Cup.

He has set his heart on a move to one of Europe's major domestic leagues with England top of his list.

"Anthony is definitely looking to move this summer," said agent Craig Honeyman from the SEM Group.

"He was outstanding in the Africa Cup along with Essien and Muntari, and that only shows what standard he is up to at this stage.

"His priority is most definitely a move to England and he has seen how well the likes of Muntari and Essien have done. There is interest and a lot from the Premier League.

"Playing in Norway has been great for him as all the big clubs in England have scouts and people over there. We are confident he will be playing in England next season."

BLACKBURN are aiming to have a new manager in place within 10 days, according to their chairman John Williams.

Williams, has refused to be drawn on whether former striker Alan Shearer was a contender for the lengthy short-list that contains Steve McClaren, Sam Allardyce and Paul Ince.

Shearer has repeatedly been questioned about his management ambitions, and while he has admitted he wants to return to football one day, he has remained non-committal about the timing