Wanderers are at Maine Road on Saturday and Richard Mulligan reveals how Kevin Keegan is heading for another dip in the transfer market.

MANCHESTER City boss Kevin Keegan was famed for his big spending during his time at Newcastle and will be hoping to continue that during the January sales.

It was Keegan who broke the British transfer record in 1996 when he signed Alan Shearer for £15 million from Blackburn, and also spent big on Les Ferdinand, David Ginola and Faustino Asprilla amongst others.

Since taking over at Maine Road he has also been willing to splash the cash, not least the £20 million he spent on Nicolas Anelka, Marc-Vivien Foe and Sylvain Distin in the summer.

Keegan will find out on Thursday how much money he will be given to his strengthen his squad but has revealed he does not expect to spend any of it on Lee Bowyer.

He is meeting with the City board to plan for when the transfer window reopens in the New Year, and is hoping the funds will stretch to two key signings.

The manager, his staff and his scouts have been watching several possible targets in recent weeks and now wants to filter his search.

Keegan said: "We have eight people watching games every day of the week and that's apart from myself, Arthur Cox, Derek Fazackerely and Asa Hartford.

"What this meeting is for is to see what money is available so we know where to look.

"At the end of the day, it's no good us looking at all of the best players in Europe if we have not got that amount of money."

The boss feels there are certain areas of the squad which need to be bolstered and will pursue new additions there, although he insists he will not be spending just for the sake of it.

"I know we need to be stronger if we want to take on the very best week in week out," added Keegan. "We need to strengthen and I hope that's what the board wants.

"If there's a sum of money there, we may decide to go for one player or split it between two.

"We might decide that if we can't get the quality we want, then we might not pursue it. It will not be spending for the sake of spending.

"I think there will be some business in January but I don't think it will be a lot.

"We have been linked with Lee Bowyer but it's obvious now, or it seems obvious to everyone, that he'll wait until the end of the season and become a Bosman and that's his right under the rules."

Keegan is likely to welcome back Sylvain Distin and Steve Howey for the game with Wanderers at Maine Road.

French ace Distin has been out with a hamstring problem, while Howey has suffered with a foot injury.

Forward Darren Huckerby is another player on the comeback trail, and last week scored a hat-trick in the reserves.