Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has described Mark Hughes as an "outstanding manager" as the club close in on their top target.

Following the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Monday, City have moved swiftly in a bid to bring in the Blackburn boss and have already agreed compensation with Rovers.

Hughes is also believed to be interesting Chelsea but Thaksin is clearly confident of getting his man.

City have yet to make a formal announcement on Hughes but Thaksin said: "He's an outstanding manager who has achieved many things with Blackburn.

"Mark was always the first choice of our new executive chairman, Garry Cook. Together they will make a great team.

"They will both prove to be excellent acquisitions, I'm sure."

The treatment of Eriksson, who masterminded a top-10 finish after moving to Eastlands last summer, has dismayed many City fans but Thaksin insists he has the best interests of the club at heart.

"These are exciting times for Manchester City and I hope the supporters can understand that I share their goals," he continued.

"That sometimes means making ruthless decisions.

"Now we can go forward to a new era, with a new management structure and great hope and ambition."

Thaksin Shinawatra factfile

Born July 26, 1949 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Thaksin is commonly referred to by the Thai press as "maew" which is the derogative term for a northern Thailand hill tribe also known as Hmong.

He started his career in the Thai police, and later became a successful entrepreneur, establishing Shin Corporation and Advanced Info Service, the largest mobile phone operator in Thailand.

In 1978 he received a doctorate in criminal justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas with a dissertation on "An Analysis of the Relationship Between the Criminal Justice Educational Process and the Attitude of the Student Toward the Rule of Law."

He married Potjaman Damapong, the daughter of a police general, in 1980 Thaksin entered politics by joining the Phalang Dharma Party in 1994, and later founded the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party in 1998. After a landslide election victory in 2001, he became Prime Minister of Thailand. At the time, the 2001 election was regarded by observers as the most open, corruption-free election in Thai history.

His government was frequently challenged with allegations of corruption, dictatorship, demagogy, treason, conflicts of interest, acting undiplomatically, tax evasion, the use of legal loopholes and hostility towards a free press.

Independent bodies, including Amnesty International, also expressed concern at Thaksin's human rights record.

On 19 September 2006, a military junta known as the Council for National Security (CNS) overthrew his government while he was attending a UN meeting in New York.

He was in exile for 17 months until February 28, 2008, when he returned to Bangkok. During exile, Shinawatra became a resident of London, and owner of the English football club Manchester City.