It is understood that Brazilian club Santos are looking at the possibility of bringing Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz back to South America in the summer. The Manchester city striker is currently playing for the Spanish club Malaga.
However, he is out of contract with the Premier league outfit at the end of the season, thus making him free to join any club of his wish. Even though he has indicated that he is extremely happy at Malaga, the financial restrictions of the Spanish club mean that he is unlikely to be signed on a permanent basis.
The 31-year-old has played for the likes of Bayern Munich and Blackburn Rovers in a stellar career, but he could be set for return to his home continent. Santos have an array of attacking talent including 21-year-old Neymar, who has been billed as the best young talent in the world. However, the club thought to be considering the arrival of a new striker in order to compensate for the expected loss of Neymar in the summer. Santa Cruz has not only been linked with Santos, but the likes of Botafogo have also been linked with the 31-year-old.
Santos already have three foreign players in their squad, and Brazilian clubs are allowed to field only this number of players at any given moment. This may prove to be a stumbling block in a potential move to Santos. Santa Cruz has been one of the main reasons in an excellent season for Malaga in which they have almost qualified for the Champions League semifinals only to the knockout by German club Borussia Dortmund in the final few minutes of the match. The club are currently sixth in the la Liga table outside the possible European spots.
Santa Cruz has made 28 appearances and scored eight goals for the Spanish club this season.