Keegan's small talk that led to Anelka

And so City's most costly transfer was born.

McKay, who shares a love of horse racing with Keegan, had become one of City's major suppliers of players and helped set up star midfielder Ali Benarbia's switch to the north-west last year.

So from the moment Keegan had a similar vision of Anelka in City blue, McKay was on the case.

But there was one major obstacle - Anelka's desire to join Liverpool, where he had been on loan for five months.

Keegan and chairman David Bernstein, who was now whipped up in the romance of the deal, had to sit patiently as Anelka was initially encouraged by Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier. He was worried about missing out completely on a new striker.

City knew there was no question of outbidding the Anfield club - the money they had earmarked in fees and wages was already testwoulding them to the extreme. It was just a case of hope and pray.

But then Houllier, who was also courting West Ham's Freddie Kanoute, performed a dangerous somersault for a man of his years and health and told Anelka he was no longer wanted. Suddenly, Keegan was back in.

Within minutes, calls and faxes were flying across Europe as McKay established that City were still poised and that the Anelka clan was willing to do business.

Then, just to complicate matters, City also wanted defender Lucien Mettomo to go to PSG as a vital makeweight in the deal, to save them some of the fee. However, Mettomo, who was with Cameroon's World Cup squad, insisted he wanted to stay in the Premiership.

But that proved a minor glitch - striker Alain Toure was eventually persuaded to return to France in part exchange - and Anelka and his friends took a private jet from Paris to Manchester to finally complete the somewhat complex 35- mile journey from Merseyside.

Meanwhile, fellow City forward Shaun Goater has rejected suggestions he is to quit Maine Road. The arrival of Anelka and Argentinian Mattias Vicente Vuoso has taken Keegan's attacking options to six, but 32-year-old Goater said: 'I am in no hurry to leave. I've worked hard to get where I am and it is a really happy time at the club now.

'I am up for any challenge. I want to keep my place in the side and keep people out.'

Goater, who is currently acting as an attach? with the Bermuda Commonwealth Games team, added: 'This club is going places and you be a fool if you didn't want to be part of it.'

Keegan will start the season without Paulo Wanchope and Alfe Inge Haaland, who both have knee injuries, and he received further bad news yesterday when goalkeeper Nicky Weaver was ruled out for a month after knee surgery.

'It's the last thing I wanted after working hard all summer,' said Weaver, who is already behind Peter Schmeichel and Carlo Nash in the pecking order.