Hughes aims to lure Ronaldinho with vow to revive his career

Mark Hughes believes he can rescue Ronaldinho's career by handing him the kind of talismanic role at Manchester City that Luis Felipe Scolari's Chelsea, believed to be rivals for the player's signature, cannot offer.

The new City boss unveiled the club's record £19m signing, Brazilian striker Jo, yesterday. The former CSKA Moscow player, who was holidaying with Ronaldinho just three weeks ago, could shed no light on his compatriot's eagerness to join him, but Hughes believes the nature of the "Manchester City project" could be decisive.

"People are questioning Ronaldinho's situation at the moment and maybe what we're doing here might attract more than going to an established Champions League club like Chelsea," Hughes said. "He may feel this is an exciting option for him. With us, Ronaldinho could help drive this club to the very top and be a part of something new and exciting."

Hughes appeared to be unperturbed by the fitness doubts surrounding a player for whom City are understood to have agreed a £10m fee with Barcelona, which would bring the Brazilian to Manchester on a three-year deal worth more than £100,000 per week. "We can help him get back to where he was," Hughes said. "Like a lot of players at this stage of the season, he's not in the best physical shape. But if he does end up coming here, make no bones about it, we'd get him up to speed very quickly."

Hughes has not yet had a conversation with Ronaldinho to press his club's case though the signing of 21-year-old Jo will underline what ambitions the club have. The left-footed striker admitted he did not know any of the City players, apart from his fellow Brazil international Elano, but he was aware of Hughes as a player and selected City above Valencia, who also came in with an offer for him.

Jo admitted he will find it harder scoring goals in the Premier League than he did netting 30 times in 53 games in Russia. But Hughes believes his set-up will help. "I've tried to reassure him that in my teams strikers tend to score 20-plus a season," he said.

Hughes, who takes his squad on tour to Germany today, confirmed that a new contract has been agreed with captain Richard Dunne – believed to be worth £45,000-a-week, double his previous salary – and a contract agreement with Joe Hart was close. Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson has left for PSV and out of contract Sun Jihai for Sheffield United.

* Millwall chairman John Berylson expressed his relief yesterday after two resolutions tabled by a dissident shareholder, intended to limit the power of the board to conduct major property deals without shareholder approval, were rejected at an emergency general meeting. The resolutions, proposed by Graham Ferguson Lacey, were voted down by 56.69 per cent of shareholders.