If Robbie Fowler does put pen to paper on a deal to take him to Manchester City then someone at Maine Road may have to make way.

Kevin Keegan has seven strikers at his disposal at the moment in Shaun Goater, Darren Huckerby, Paulo Wanchope, Jon Macken, Nicolas Anelka, Chris Shuker and Matias Vuoso. Common sense would suggest at least one will have to go to accommodate the Leeds United frontman.

Those who consider age to be the prime factor would undoubtedly pick Goater as the player to be cast aside.

At 33 next month his career, in fairness, has reached a plateau and with many younger players behind him Keegan may decide to cash in while he can.

On the flip side, Goater has a year and a half to run on his contract and so there is no rush for either he or the club to make a decision.

He also has the overwhelming support of the club’s fans and has a strike record which is currently better than Anelka’s based on the number of games played.

Huckerby (27) could actually be as good a bet if not better than Goater for the chop.

He has not figured as much as the Bermudian this term, having made six full appearances and 14 as substitute compared to Goater’s 14 starts and seven off the bench.

Huckerby would also command a greater fee in the transfer market given the five years-plus that he has on his team-mate.

As a player coming into, if not in, his prime he might also want the guarantee of a first team place.

Another possibly on thin ice is Vuoso. City invested significant funds in the Argentine but he has yet to make the breakthrough into the first team and last week slammed his manager in the South American press.

That will not have endeared him to Keegan, the manager stating the player was making it very easy for him to leave him out at the moment.

However, although he could leave at some point in the future it is doubtful it would be to another English club and probably not for a fee that would make it worthwhile losing someone of just 20-years-old.

Wanchope, another 27-year-old, has not figured at all this season as he battles against a bad knee injury. He is on the road to recovery but is a long way off donning a light blue shirt.

It is highly unlikely that anyone would want to take the Costa Rican at the moment as he would be a huge gamble and will have to prove his fitness first.

Macken (26) is another who has been hit by the injury bug. He has not played since pre-season, shortly after transferring from Preston North End.

City paid ?4-million for Macken and, as a Keegan buy, he is definitely part of the club’s long-term future.

Anelka is another who is going nowhere – at ?13-million and the manager’s firm favourite he will be around until he decides otherwise.

Shuker, meanwhile, has made one full appearance this year – at the expense of Goater – and has come off the bench twice. He is a mere 21-years-old and will be groomed for the future unless someone comes in with an offer too good for Keegan to turn down.

It could well be that the choice comes down to Goater or Huckerby.

Keegan likes an attacking team and would probably field 11 strikers if he could but there are simply too many at City now to keep everyone happy.