Sven-Goran Eriksson has asked Thaksin Shinawatra to finance virtually an entire new team after overseeing his first training session at Manchester City yesterday. The former England coach is alarmed by the parlous state of the current squad and wants to bring in as many as 10 players before the transfer window closes.
Eriksson has been informed he will have about £50 million to spend once he is confirmed as the man in charge, and ideally he wants four strikers, two wide players, a central midfielder, a goalkeeper and two defenders in what promises to be a hectic period of transfer activity.
Eriksson will oversee the departure of several players from an already thin squad. Goalkeeper Nicky Weaver was last night holding talks with Charlton Athletic about dropping to the Championship. Paul Dickov, Georgios Samaras and Bernardo Corradi, three of the strikers responsible for City finishing last season with the worst scoring statistics at home in the history of top-flight football, will learn they have little part to play in the new era.
Eriksson has drawn up a provisional list of targets and spoke at length yesterday with the club's deputy chairman, John Wardle, about the need for building a strong squad of more than 20 players. His priority is to increase City's quota of strikers and has briefed the club's scouts about the type of players he wants.
Despite making his first appearance at City's practice ground, Eriksson has not been confirmed as Stuart Pearce's replacement, but the 59-year-old has made it clear the rebuilding process cannot wait until Thaksin has built the 75 per cent stake necessary to assume full ownership.
As such, he spent several hours yesterday looking at the areas of the squad he believes it is imperative to strengthen.
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