Eriksson in striker hunt

City boss in the market for a proven goalscorer

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 28th January 2008

Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson

Eriksson: Limited up front

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Sven-Goran Eriksson has admitted that he is keen to reinforce his attacking options before the closure of the transfer window.

The Manchester City boss allowed Rolando Bianchi to join Lazio on loan last week and with midfield pair Elano and Martin Petrov currently the club's top scorers, the Swede realises that he is in desperate need of a proven front-man.

He does have Valeri Bojinov still to return from cruciate knee ligament surgery and Nery Castillo recovering from a shoulder injury, but both are likely to remain sidelined for some time yet.

Daniel Sturridge impressed when he scored his first goal for the club after coming on as a substitute against Sheffield United in the FA Cup on Sunday, but Eriksson is refusing to throw the young striker straight into the first-team and will instead continue to scour Europe for an appropriate target.

Too dangerous

"When I came to England in August I had never seen Sturridge play football. I had only heard about him, but I knew of his talent," added Eriksson.

"I saw him a couple of weeks ago in training, initially with the reserves and then the first team, and he showed he is good.

"But I don't know if we can expect him to play for the rest of the matches (in the Premier League). That might be dangerous and too much.

"So I can easily live with another striker, and we are in the market for one."

Has to learn

Eriksson also admitted that he had taken Elano off during the 2-1 defeat at Bramall Lane to ensure that the Brazilian star did not let his temper get the better of him and find himself getting sent off.

"Elano wasn't injured, just a little frustrated," added Eriksson.

"We have to learn, and he has to learn, that life in England will be like this.

"No-one will let him do what he wants with the ball without attacking him because he is too good a player.

Good lesson

"So this was a good lesson for many of our players who have not played in England before about what the FA Cup is all about.

"Maybe they thought that in meeting a team from a lower division it would be easy, but it's not easy at all.

"It's even more difficult because the motivation from them is very high."