Patrick Vieira appeared to be moving nearer joining Manchester City Thursday and so completing a dramatic return to English football. The former Arsenal captain was reported to have flown into England Thursday, having played his last match for Italian giant Inter Milan - the club where City manager Roberto Mancini was previously in charge - against Chievo Wednesday. Barring any last minute problems, such as fitness test issues or personal terms, France great Vieira could be confirmed as a City player as early as later Thursday, although City could hold over any announcement until Friday. The 33-year-old midfielder would add defensive resilience to a City side. Vieira's arrival would represent Mancini's first signing since he replaced Hughes three weeks ago and be the latest high-profile purchase by City, which this week announced that a huge annual loss of 92.8 million pounds would be effectively wiped out by its wealthy Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour. Fabregas-Higuain swap Arsenal may be ready to sell Cesc Fabregas to Real Madrid - if they get Argentine star Gonzalo Higuain in return, a Spanish sports newspaper said Thursday. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger “is only willing to part with his captain if Real includes Gonzalo Higuain in the deal,” said Marca, which did not indicate its source. Mallorca and Osasuna beaten In Madrid, Real Mallorca and Osasuna were beaten 2-1 by second-division opponents in their King's Cup last-16 first-leg matches Thursday, 10-man Mallorca going down at Rayo Vallecano and Osasuna losing at Hercules. Mallorca, fourth in La Liga, failed to reproduce its impressive league form at Rayo's snowy Teresa Rivero stadium in Madrid and fell behind after a quarter of an hour. Michel burst through the centre, rounded goalkeeper German Lux and slotted cooly into the empty goal. Mallorca midfielder Julio Alvarez netted a precise shot five minutes later but the visitors were rocked when defender Felipe Mattioni was shown a second yellow card for shirt pulling in the 36th. Juan Jose Collantes headed in from a tight angle to restore Rayo's lead two minutes before halftime and Mallorca had a lucky escape late on when defender Enrique Corrales cleared a shot off the line. Cristian swept the ball past Osasuna goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez to complete a fine passing move and give Hercules the lead in Alicante on 17 minutes. Striker Jorge Galan leveled shortly after the break before Joseba del Olmo smashed the winner in off the crossbar with just over 20 minutes remaining to give the second-division leaders the advantage ahead of next week's second leg in Pamplona.
