'Very slim' chance Patrick Vieira will stay at Inter, admits Jose Mourinho as Manchester City prepare to pounce

Invincible: Vieira led Arsenal to their last league title before moving to Juventus in 2005



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Patrick Vieira took another step closer to the Inter Milan exit door on Tuesday when the Italian club's manager Jose Mourinho admitted there was a 'very slim' chance the midfielder would stay at the San Siro.



The former Arsenal captain is expected to join Manchester City on a six-month loan deal by the start of next week.



Vieira has spoken with his former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini, now the boss at Eastlands, and a deal is ‘99 per cent agreed’.

The Frenchman is expected to fly to Manchester and put pen to paper on the short-term loan, which carries the possibility of an 18-month contract to follow if everything goes well for both parties during his loan period.

Other clubs are also hopeful of securing the 33-year-old's services, but it is believed City represent the greatest opportunity of regular first-team football for Vieira.

'We've talked a lot about Patrick Vieira,' said Bernard Lacombe, special adviser to the president of French club Lyon.



'He's an immense player, who we would have wished to have, but it's a bit troublesome because first of all he can't play in the Champions League and also we're not the only one interested in him.



'There are other clubs, big clubs, although of course it's true he needs to play at a club where he can play regularly in order to go to the World Cup.



'Vieira could be the leader of our dressing room because he's played at huge clubs.



'Moreover, when you come to the end of your career there's only one or two great competitions left, there's the World Cup coming up and Patrick Vieira really wants to play in it.'



Vieira was on the brink of joining Tottenham last August after a bold move from Harry Redknapp but then had second thoughts when his former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also showed interest.



Vieira had led the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’, who were unbeaten champions in 2003-04.



On the ball: Vieira is keen to leave Inter Milan before the World Cup

Mancini suggested there would be a number of January arrivals yesterday when he said: ‘All the players want to join Manchester City. That is normal with a big club which is going to have a big future.



'People are not only talking about Patrick Vieira, they are also saying Ivan Cordoba and Cristian Chivu.’



However, instead of Inter’s Chivu, Mancini is expected to sign Argentinian left back Cristian Ansaldi from Russian champions Rubin Kazan, as first revealed by Sportsmail last month, for around £6million.



