Newcastle United boss Kevin Keegan says he is confident they have the spending power to splash out £25 million on one player.

"Spending £25 million on one player doesn't frighten me one bit," said Keegan, who paid a then world record £15 million for Alan Shearer in 1996.

"You have to target big players. If you have a budget, it's like any budget: if you have 'X' million, you can divide it into one or two players, or four or five.

"We'll be in there pitching for some very good players. If you don't bowl, you can't knock the wickets down. We might get hit for six, but we might get a wicket."