Van Buyten completes loan move to Man City

Marseille's Belgian international defender Daniel Van Buyten has completed a loan move to Manchester City with David Sommeil moving in the other direction, the French club confirmed.

Sommeil put pen to paper to a six-month contract with a view to a permanent move while van Buyten made the reverse trip to join City on the same conditions plus a transfer fee reported to be around three million euros (3.7 million dollars).

Van Buyten, 25, is also available for sale if he impresses at City.

He joined Marseille from Belgian club Standard Liege in 2001 and was the club's top scorer last year with eight goals, before falling out of favour with new Marseille coach Jose Anigo this season following a run of poor form.

The Belgian was a transfer target of Manchester United last year, but Marseille refused to sell at that point and slapped a 22.5 million euro price tag on him.

Sommeil joined Manchester City from Bordeaux in January 2003 and had been a key element in Kevin Keegan's outfit since.