Kevin Keegan has thrown his weight behind Shaun Goater declaring the Bermudian hitman "Premiership quality".

The Manchester City boss is preparing his squad for their Division One opener against Watford on Saturday evening and believes in Goater and his fellow frontmen he has a strikeforce to worry any team in the land.

There had been speculation in recent weeks that Goater and Costa Rican Paulo Wanchope might be on their way out of the club.

The Islander had been the subject of two bids - one from Wolves and the second believed to be from fellow First Division rivals Preston North End.

Wolves chairman, Sir Jack Hayward, expressed his disappointment that even though he had offered a reported ?2-million, he was unable to lure the player to the West Midlands.

"We want a striker but no-one will release one at the price we want even though we have offered high amounts," he said. "We just can't prise them away."

Wanchope, meanwhile, had been quoted as saying he fancied pitting his wits in the Spanish Primera Liga.

But all that came to nothing with City chairman, David Bernstein, and then manager Keegan saying publicly the pair were going nowhere after holding heart to heart meetings with the players.

The boss said he told Wanchope that City were the biggest club he had ever played for in England, "bigger than Derby County and bigger than West Ham".

"I also pointed out that anything he wanted to achieve in the game can be achieved right here at Maine Road," Keegan said.

The conversation with Goater was along similar lines.

"I told him we had turned down two offers for him this summer," the former England manager said. "And that in itself is evidence of how much I want him to stay at this club.

"Shaun's reaction was the same as Wanchope's. He is happy at Maine Road and he wants nothing more than to remain and play his part in taking the club back where they belong. Both Paulo and Shaun will get goals this coming season, I am positive of that."

Goater and Wanchope will have competition from Darren Huckerby, Paul Dickov and youngster Shaun Wright-Phillips as the Blues aim to get back in the big time after their Premiership relegation last year.

"With international call-ups and the inevitable injury or two, they will all have a part to play during the course of the season," Keegan said. "And, with hand on heart, I wouldn't swap what I've got up front for any other strikers in the First Division."

Keegan, who inherited all four players when he took over from the sacked Joe Royle, said he believed the quartet were all quality.

"They would be four quality strikers in the Premiership, which makes them all the more valuable in the First Division," he said.

"You look at Shaun Goater, he is proven in the top flight. Paulo Wanchope will score goals, as he proved in Copa America, and has now had a chance to bed in at this club."

But Keegan stressed none of the four would be allowed to rest on their laurels and their selection for the starting 11 depended purely on their performances in coming weeks.

"We will be looking to strenghten, but we can't ignore the fact we already have a very good squad here," he said.