Manchester City are expected to lodge bids for Roque Santa Cruz, the Blackburn Rovers striker, and Kolo Touré, the Arsenal defender, during the weekend as Mark Hughes prepares to welcome Wayne Bridge to the club from Chelsea.

Bridge, 28, is understood to have agreed personal terms with City last night that will see him match the £88,000-a-week salary that he was on at Stamford Bridge, although it is thought that he had been holding out for about £100,000 a week. He will complete a £10 million move on a four-year contract this morning, providing a medical does not throw up any problems.

It is a remarkable sum for a player who has made only 74 Premier League starts in 5½ years for Chelsea since his £7 million move from Southampton, where he played alongside Hughes, the City manager. Indeed, the whole package could end up costing City almost £30 million.

The club’s spending will not stop there, however. Hughes is confident of being able to prise Touré, the Ivory Coast defender, from Arsenal in a similarly priced deal, despite Arsène Wenger’s claims that the defender wants to stay at the Emirates Stadium.

The club will also put in a bid of £17 million for Santa Cruz, who has made clear his desire to leave Blackburn for City. “It seems that the circumstances needed for me to be transferred are going in a good direction,” the forward said last night.

Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy, the West Ham United players, are also firmly in Hughes’s sights, as is Shay Given, the Newcastle United goalkeeper. Hughes is hoping to conclude most of City’s transfer business by the middle of the month.

Bridge has been forced to play second fiddle to Ashley Cole for club and country but Hughes is convinced that the player can establish himself as a regular at international level if he impresses in a City shirt.

“I think the situation with Wayne Bridge is that, yes, he has had success at his club and is a full international, but you come to a point in your career when you want to play week in, week out,” Hughes, whose team host Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round today, said.

“He wants to try and establish himself in the England team. Fabio Capello \ has said that he needs to see players playing every week.

“I know Wayne as an individual as I played in the same team as him at Southampton and if it \ happens we’re getting a good character as well as a good player.

“If you’re not sure you’re going to play or if you’re just having one game here or one game there, maybe your focus will drift on occasions.

“It’s credit to him that when he has played for Chelsea he has been able to maintain that high standard, but I just sensed that maybe he’s one of those players that need to play regularly.”

Hughes believes the anticipated arrival of Bridge, coupled with the signing of Robinho, the Brazil forward, in a British record £34.2 million deal in September, will help him to convince other players to join the club.

“We’re given indications on an almost weekly basis that players want to come here,” Hughes said. “Invariably, those who have said they don’t want to come are the ones we are not particularly interested in.

“People try to put a negative slant that we might not be able to attract big names, but if we felt they were the right players for us then I’m quite sure these big names will come here.”