Keegan braced for clearance sale as new City regime cuts costs

Kevin Keegan is to be told that he must carry out a large Maine Road clearance sale this summer. The Manchester City manager had been planning a spending spree, but the club now wants him to sell around eight or nine players.

The former chairman, David Bernstein, left in a dispute over balancing the books and the new regime are going to tell Keegan that cuts must be made.

The payroll at City is too large and includes players Keegan has bought who have not fulfiled expectations. He is planning to sell Steve Howey and the experienced centre-half will be followed by the Argentinian striker, Mattias Vicente Vuoso, a £4m disappointment. Also in line to leave are the Cameroon defender, Lucien Mettomo, signed for £3m, Darren Huckerby and possibly Richard Dunne.

The clear-out began yesterday when Derby County signed Paul Ritchie on loan for the rest of the season. Mettomo is being offered to foreign clubs, while Huckerby may join Nottingham Forest, although Southampton are also interested.

Charlton Athletic were the biggest spenders on transfer-deadline day, paying Ipswich £900,000 for the Iceland international, Hermann Hreidarsson, but the defender will not be able to play this season because of the transfer regulations.

Most deals were restricted to Nationwide clubs, although the Manchester United winger Luke Chadwick has agreed to extend his stay at Reading until the end of the season.

Perhaps the most audacious acquisition was Rushden & Diamonds' signing of the 34-year-old Dean Holdsworth until the end of the season, the striker having had his Coventry contract cancelled by mutual consent.

The most curious signing was that of the former Popstars – The Rivals contestant, Peter Smith, who has been taken on by AFC Wimbledon, having played for Shelbourne in Ireland.

Elsewhere, Sheffield United signed Gary Kelly as goalkeeping cover and took the Preston midfielder Mark Rankine on loan. Paul Warhurst, of Bolton, joined Stoke on a similar deal, Middlesbrough's young centre-half Phil Gulliver signed for Oxford for the rest of the season and the Southampton striker Scott McDonald signed for Bournemouth.

* Despite rumours to the contrary, Real Madrid say they will not be going after David Beckham this summer. The club's director of sport, Jorge Valdano, said: "The possibility that Beckham will one day play for Real Madrid is very remote."

Deadline day transfers

H Hreidarsson Ipswich to Charlton, £900,000; B Burgess Stockport to Hull, £100,000; T Youngs Cambridge to Northampton, £50,000; G Heald Barnet to Leyton Orient, undisclosed; W Purser Barnet to Leyton Orient, undisclosed; G Holt Barrow to Sheff Wed, nominal; R Evans Birmingham to Sheff Wed, free; D Holdsworth Coventry to Rushden & Diamonds, free; J Lawrence Bradford to Walsall, free; M McCammon Brentford to Millwall, free; S McDonald Southampton to Bournemouth, free; S Partridge Rushden & Diamonds to Shrewsbury, free; A Rammell Wycombe to Bristol Rovers, free; D Ridler Macclesfield to Scarborough, free; G Strachan Coventry to Southend, free; G Thompson Fulham to Northampton, free; A Akinbiyi Crystal Palace to Stoke, loan; I Anderson Preston to Tranmere, loan; L Beevers Ipswich to Boston, loan; A Boucaud Reading to Peterborough, loan; M Brown Bristol City to Cheltenham, loan; L Chadwick Man Utd to Reading, loan; L Collins Blackpool to Morecambe, loan; R Dickinson Ipswich to Boston, loan; P Gulliver Middlesbrough to Bournemouth, loan; K Graydon Sunderland to York, loan; K Hawley Walsall to Hereford, loan; D Hockenhull Blackburn to Rochdale, loan; A Holt Hull to Shrewsbury, loan; R Hulbert Bristol City to Shrewsbury, loan; S Igoe Reading to Luton, loan; G Little Burnley to Reading, loan; C Little Crewe to Macclesfield, loan; L Mansell Luton to Nuneaton, loan; J Miles Crewe to Macclesfield, loan; M Rankine Preston to Sheff Utd, loan; M Keane Preston to Grimsby, loan; S Kelly Tottenham to QPR, loan; B May Millwall to Colchester, loan; P McCarthy Man City to Notts County, loan; P McCarthy Wycombe to Oxford, loan; T Newey Leeds to Darlington, loan; P Ritchie Man City to Derby, loan; T Scully Cambridge to Peterborough, loan; M Taylor Blackburn to Rochdale, loan; M Turner Charlton to Leyton Orient, loan; J Viander Stoke to FC Midtjylland, loan; L Ten Heuvel Sheff Utd to Bradford, loan; P Warhurst Bolton to Stoke, loan; S Watts Leyton Orient to Shrewsbury, loan; T Thompson Sheff Utd to Doncaster, loan; B Abbey Woking to Macclesfield, non-contract; N Bennett Bradford to Rochdale, non-contract; E Ekoku Unattached to Brentford, non-contract; G Kelly Unattached to Sheff Utd, non-contract; T Jinadu Unattached to Bristol Rovers, non-contract; K McAnespie Unattached to Plymouth, non-contract; N McNamara Belper to Lincoln, non-contract; M Ward Belper to Lincoln, non-contract.