Eto'o in Uzbekistan

Kuruvchi claim to have agreed a deal with the Liga side and hope to sign Eto'o to play in the second half of their domestic season.

"There was a real suggestion from Kuruvchi. That's why I'm in Tashkent right now," Eto'o said.

"One of the reasons I am here is to get to know about the people here and all the interesting things about this country.

"I want to say something but there will be more offers from other clubs and I will choose the one that is the right for me.

"Tonight I will leave for Spain and from there I will confirm my final decision."

Kuruvchi announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement with Barcelona on a cut-price deal for the striker, who is also wanted by Chelsea.

The club's sporting director Bahtier Babayev said: "The defining moment of the transfer was not money, but the friendly mutual relations between the management of our club and Barcelona," he said.

"The personal friendship between presidents of the clubs has noticeably lowered the transfer fee."

Kuruvchi have also invited Barcelona's Spanish Euro 2008 winners Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta to help Uzbekistan's youth development.

The claims were dismissed by Barcelona, whose official spokesperson said: "Nobody at the club knows anything about this."