Mark Hughes has called for an end to the circus surrounding Manchester City after wrongful claims this week that the club were prepared to pay almost three times the world transfer record of £47.5 million to sign Iker Casillas, the Real Madrid goalkeeper.

An Arab purporting to represent Sheikh Mansour, City’s Abu Dhabi owner, told Casillas’s agent that the club would offer £128 million for the Spaniard, but while Hughes conceded yesterday that he was in the hunt for “superstar” signings in addition to players with proven Barclays Premier League experience, the manager has pleaded for some perspective.

“It [the transfer speculation] has got to the point now where you read these claims and the figures involved and they are so outlandish, you can’t take them seriously,” Hughes said. “The key is for people to calm down a bit.

“There’s going to be a huge amount of interest in what we’re doing, but people should allow us to do our business. We hope to do business in January but until then it’s a case of wait and see.”

Elano, the midfield player, will miss City’s game away to Fulham today while Robinho, the forward, and Micah Richards, the defender, are doubts after missing training yesterday, although Hughes expects Shaun Wright-Phillips to be fit to play.

“We’re two points from the relegation zone, but we’re also only \ points away from Europe, so it depends if you want to put a positive or negative spin on things,” Hughes said. “We want to be in the top half going into the new year. That would give us a clear focus for the second half of the season. Back-to-back wins and you’re up to sixth or seventh.”