The former England coach, who may be officially appointed manager tomorrow, was at the club's Carrington training complex where he consulted the club's scouting department over his potential targets.

And it is believed that West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun and Middlesbrough striker Ayegbeni Yakubu were top of his list.

Liverpool have already had a bid for Benayoun rejected by the Hammers, but Eriksson looks likely to try to snatch the Isreal skipper from under the nose of Anfield chief Rafael Benitez.

City are desperate for striking power, and Yakubu is a player Eriksson will attempt to prise away from the Riverside. The pair could together cost City £12million, but the Swede is believed to be getting £50m to spend from the club's new owner Thaksin Shinawatra.

The frustrating delay in Eriksson's appointment is due to Thaksin wanting to reach the 75 per cent mark of the club's 55 million shares, to be able to de-list the club from the Stock Exchange.

Only then will he make a formal announcement to the market and officially appoint 59-year-old Eriksson.

City hope that Thaksin, who already has around 73 per cent, will reach the 75 per cent mark by tomorrow lunchtime to allow the club to formally announce Eriksson as their new manager and allow them to stage a media conference later in the day.

But Eriksson is clearly well advanced with his new plans. City's players returned for pre-season training today, and the Swede watched the first session.

He was accompanied on the touchline by current chairman John Wardle, chief executive Alastair Mackintosh and, significantly, top agent Jerome Anderson.

Eriksson then met captain Richard Dunne ahead of the rest of the playing staff, before addressing the club's coaching staff and the scouts.

In the afternoon he held meetings with senior club officials, and the Eastlands club are now waiting for Thaksin to buy the final few shares he needs before Eriksson can be officially unveiled.

Eriksson jetted into Manchester last night, and is expected to complete the formalities of his three year contract, worth £2.5m a year within hours.

Eriksson is expected to be joined in the city tomorrow by long-time coaching assistant Tord Grip, who is likely to act as a sounding board and undertake some scouting duties, as he did for Eriksson when the pair worked together for England.

Roland Andersson, coach to the Swedish national team, will be Eriksson's number two. Andersson is currently on holiday but it understood he was contacted yesterday by Eriksson.

As yet the Swedish FA have not been approached about the possibility of City securing Andersson's services.

Eriksson was introduced to former Swansea chief Kenny Jackett, brought in by former manager Stuart Pearce to be reserve team boss towards the end of last season, and long-serving Derek Fazackerley, who organised today's workout for the players.

Conditioning coach John Webb took the sessions. Eriksson found an almost totally clean bill of health among the players, with 19-year-old England defender Micah Richards fully recovered from the calf operations that kept him out of the domestic and international game from March.