ROQUE Santa Cruz is set to complete his move to Manchester City on Monday after a £17m deal was agreed with Blackburn Rovers.

The Paraguayan striker is away on holiday but, upon his return to England at the weekend, he will undergo a medical at Eastlands before teaming up with his old boss Mark Hughes.

It will finally bring to an end a transfer saga that has lasted almost 12 months - with Hughes keen to capture Santa Cruz ever since he took over the City hot-seat last summer.

The South American’s departure will equal Blackburn’s record transfer sale of midfielder David Bentley, who joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 for £17m.

Rovers will receive an initial £15m for the 27-year-old, and it is believed that they will comfortably pick up a further £2m in add-ons.

The agreement between Blackburn and their north west rivals comes hot on the heels on the club’s decision to sell Matt Derbyshire to Greek champions Olympiakos for £3m.

Both strikers will exit Ewood Park early next week, leaving Rovers boss Sam Allardyce with a sizeable transfer kitty to bring in his own strikers ahead of the 2009/10 Premier League campaign.

Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts will be the only genuine recognised strikers remaining on the club’s books, and Allardyce will require at least two more frontmen to give Rovers the adequate firepower.

Blackburn rejected a £17m bid from City back in January, when Allardyce was desperate to hold onto his leading marksman to stave off the threat of relegation.

As it turned out, Santa Cruz’s season ended in March with a knee injury and Blackburn avoided the drop without his help.

But now, Allardyce will consider an identical fee too good to refuse for a player that has made no secret of his desire to leave East Lancashire.

Arriving at Ewood from Bayern Munich for £3.8m in 2007, Santa Cruz became an instant hit after scoring 23 goals in his first season and swiftly adapting to the demands of the Premier League.

Those exploits caught the attention of seveal English clubs but, although the Paraguayan was the subject of frenzied transfer speculation last summer, he signed a new four-year deal at Rovers.

However, despite declaring his loyalty to the club at the time, a restless Santa Cruz made public his wish for a move later in the season.

The 2008/09 campaign ulitmately proved a disappointment for the former Bayern star, scoring just six goals in all competitions and blighted by injury problems.