Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to make a decision on Sven-Göran Eriksson’s future at the end of the season, although the Manchester City manager was given cause to believe that he will be in a job this summer after a constructive meeting with the club’s controversial owner yesterday morning.

Eriksson spent 45 minutes in “cordial” talks with Thaksin, two of the former Thailand Prime Minister’s advisers and Alistair Mackintosh, the City chief executive, at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, in Manchester. The discussions are understood to have centred on City’s summer transfer strategy, with Thaksin believed to be willing to sanction the signing of Jo, the highly rated CSKA Moscow and Brazil striker, but, regardless of such an apparent show of support, it is unclear whether the owner gave Eriksson firm assurances that he will be in charge next season.

Any move for Jo, 21, could cost City up to £20 million and would appear to contradict Thaksin’s claims in an interview in the club’s official match programme on Saturday that he would not be spending significantly in the summer in the overly confident belief that qualification for the Uefa Cup should not be too hard to achieve next season.

City are keen to offload, among others, Rolando Bianchi, Bernardo Corradi, Georgios Samaras, Paul Dickov and Danny Mills, all of whom are on loan at other clubs.