Manchester City boss Mark Hughes is ready to splash the cash in January.

The Daily Mail says Hughes' plans to bid for Roque Santa Cruz, Wayne Bridge and Lassana Diarra in January were yesterday given the go-ahead by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Hughes is confident Blackburn's Santa Cruz, who scored against Sunderland in their 2-1 win in the Carling Cup last night, and Chelsea's Bridge will sign but he faces competition from Tottenham for Portsmouth's Diarra.