City are looking at tieing up a double deal with Premier League strugglers West Ham that will see Carlton Cole and Mark Noble leave Upton Park for the Britannia Stadium with David Kitson going the other way.
Cole has already been heavily linked with a move to the Brit and reports suggest he could well complete a £12m move north as early as Monday, but the accuracy of that is unknown, whilst the management have enquired about the availability of Noble, who is a product of the Hammers academy, and are reportedly preparing a £5m swoop.
The £12m Cole transfer will include £3m valued David Kitson going the other way, £6m changing hands up front, and £3m in add on's depending on the players success.
The deal for Noble is expected to take a bit longer to complete than the Cole deal, which is now at an advanced stage, as the Hammers look set for a summer clear out with the new owners putting every player, bar captain Scott Parker, on the transfer list and indicating a big turnaround in playing staff is needed at the East End club.
If the Cole transfer does get completed it will smash the current transfer record, which is held by either Tuncay, who cost £5m last summer, or David Kitson, who was the Potters first Premier League signing in a deal eventually worth £5.5m, but all the add on's have yet to be triggered.