Souness given £10m to halt Rovers decline

Graeme Souness, the Blackburn Rovers manager, wants to invest heavily in his club to ensure that they do not flirt with relegation next season as they have this.

Souness will have talks with his chief executive John Williams about buying three or four new players this summer - and the signs are he will be backed to the tune of £10 to £15m.

Souness wants to concentrate on quality signings, after enjoying only mixed success this season. Williams is likely to give him the financial resources after the relief of beating relegation this season. Although, Souness has had a uneven season, the board know what he has done for the club.

Two or three of the club's bigger names will be moved out. Dwight Yorke faces being frozen out, while Andy Todd's refusal to go on the bench for the Leeds game may have been his last mistake at the club.

Meanwhile Souness has denied rumours, originating from comments made in some of his dark moods while fighting for survival, that he is thinking of quitting: "I will definitely be staying," he said. "It has been a difficult season but I am committed to the job."

Manchester City want to give Shaun Wright-Phillips a new five-year contract worth £30,000 a week.

The winger, who has been a highlight of Kevin Keegan's disappointing season, will be offered a pay rise to keep him at the club and away from the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

Wright-Phillips has become a success story for City this season and, after his first England call-up, is also on many managers' wanted lists. City, however, do not want to sell him and plan to tie him to the club until the summer of 2009.

Wright-Phillips is one of the lesser-paid players at City because he has come up through the ranks. However, the latest deal will more than double his current salary.

It is a strategy City may adopt in other cases, using funds saved from moving out more experienced players to invest in home-grown young talent.