Anelka Tops Eriksson's £30m January Shopping List

Sven-Goran Eriksson has identified Nicolas Anelka as his primary transfer target in January. Manchester City's manager has also given serious consideration to the potential availability of Michael Owen at Newcastle United and Peter Crouch of Liverpool but neither name is present on a list he has presented to City's owner, Thaksin Shinawatra.

With about £30m to spend, Eriksson wants to bring in three new signings. Mark Bresciano, the Australia international who nearly joined the club from Palermo in August, is still in Eriksson's thoughts but his priority will be bringing Anelka to City for a second time.

The Frenchman, still City's record signing after his £13m move from Paris St-Germain in 2002, scored 46 goals in 103 games for the club before leaving for Fenerbahce in January 2005.

His form for Bolton Wanderers, plus his openly stated desire to join a bigger club, have encouraged City, although there could be competition from several European teams. Bolton will reluctantly allow their player to leave but will want a fee in excess of £10m.

The problem for City is that Anelka has said he wants to join a club that is in the Champions League, and because it is so well known that he wants to leave the Reebok he is likely to be one of the most sought-after players during the transfer window.

The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, admitted last week that he had tried to sign him several times in the past, and Chelsea are also thought to be interested in becoming the eighth club of his nomadic career.

Eriksson's plans for tomorrow's game against Wigan Athletic have been disrupted by Elano's hamstring injury. The Brazilian was substituted during the 2-1 defeat of Reading last Saturday and was due to have a scan yesterday to determine the seriousness of the problem.

"In the worst case, he will be out for three to four weeks. The best case is that he will miss just the one game," said the former England manager. "It's a pity because we know what Elano means to this team in the last third of the pitch, but we will have to show we can play good football without him."