SAM Allardyce has given football agents an open invitation to do business.

The Reebok boss is looking for at least two players in the January transfer window with a defender and a forward his preferred targets.

He is today reported to have invited Argentine pair Luis Enrique Rueda, a striker, and Nicolas Maidana, a centre half, both aged 30, for trials with a view to a double loan move.

With the start of the mad dealing month just four weeks away, agents, chairmen and managers are putting the nuts and bolts into place for the transfer merry-go-round to start spinning.

Allardyce wants to jump on it as soon as possible to boost both ends of the team with short-term signings.

The level of debt facing the club means they have no money to spend on fees leaving Allardyce to try to repeat last season's feat when he recruited Fredi Bobic on loan and Youri Djorkaeff on a four and a half-month deal.

Rueda and Maidana completed their domestic season with Racing Club at the weekend and are available for the rest of the season.

Allardyce is in desperate need of new blood with a crippling injury list which was exposed in Saturday's one-sided defeat by Manchester City.

Defenders Gudni Bergsson and Mike Whitlow have missed the last six and four games and are unlikely to make it for this weekend's Reebok derby clash with Blackburn Rovers. Bernard Mendy will be out for a further four to six weeks, Gareth Farrelly will almost certainly miss the weekend as will Bruno N'gotty who serves the last of a three-man ban.

Per Frandsen could return but Allardyce will still have to send out a mix and match team on Saturday.

Allardyce knows he cannot afford to go the rest of the season with the current level of strength in depth and will be discussing possible deals between now and the start of the transfer window.

He said: "We need to bring people in when the window opens.

"We will get what we can and that will be on loan. The agents will start ringing soon."