Shaun Goater may find himself further down the pecking order at Manchester City following Kevin Keegan's latest raid on the transfer market.

Goater, who yesterday was once again linked with interest from First Division Preston, saw a long run in the first team come to a halt over the festive period when he was benched for the Premiership games against Fulham and Everton.

Frenchman Nicolas Anelka, a ?13 million summer signing, has been an ever present in the side and when the Premiership transfer window opened on New Year's Day, City boss Keegan swooped to sign one of his former team-mates.

Djamel Belmadi is set to play alongside Anelka in the City attack following his loan move from Olympique Marseille, Keegan said yesterday.

Belmadi, an Algerian, was in the same Paris St. Germain team as Anelka earlier in his career.

Primarily an attacking midfielder, Keegan's announcement that he may play Belmadi up front must be seen as a snub to the full-time strikers at the club, such as Goater and Darren Huckerby.

"It's a loan with a view to signing at the end of the season depending on how he settles,' Keegan said about Belmadi's move.

"We know he plays really well with Nicolas Anelka. We know he can play in the same position as Eyal (Berkovic) and Ali (Benarbia), but he can also play up front with Anelka.

"He has played up front with Anelka in his early days (at Paris St Germain) and made him an awful lot of goals.'

If Keegan also manages to persuade Leeds' frontman Robbie Fowler to accept a reduction in his current ?50,000-a-week wages and make a ?7 million move to Maine Road it will mean there are seven out and out strikers in the City stables and another equally at home playing up front.

That would suggest that one, if not two, players may find themselves surplus to requirements in the near future and rumours are rife in the North West.

"With the month-long transfer window now opened, City have already had one approach for fans' cult hero Shaun Goater from Preston," yesterday's reported. "The First Division outfit have been told he is unavailable at present."

According to the , Preston boss Craig Brown has admitted making an "enquiry" about Goater. But he would not elaborate further."My phone has never stopped and we have been working very hard trying to get something sorted out," he told the paper."I'm still hopeful. There are one or two things on hold at the moment."Division One rivals Wolves, currently in the midst of a striker injury crisis, are also thought to be monitoring proceedings and there was a suggestion earlier this week that Ipswich, managed by Joe Royle who brought Goater to City in 1998, might also be interested.

League action is suspended this weekend with the third round of the FA Cup taking centre stage.

Anelka is a definite starter against Liverpool tomorrow despite Keegan giving him the option of sitting the mouthwatering tie out.

Formerly on loan at Anfield there was no way Anelka, though admitting to tiredness, was going to miss the chance to show the Reds what they are missing.

"I told him I would leave him out if he wanted me to and he just laughed at me and said `Non! Non! Non!' I think that means no," said Keegan.

With Belmadi ineligible for tomorrow's televised match Goater, Huckerby or Shaun Wright-Phillips could be paired with Anelka or, as at Everton, Keegan could send the Frenchman out on his own.

Goater's Bermudian team-mate Kyle Lightbourne has an FA Cup date of his own today when Macclesfield take on First Division Watford at Moss Rose.

If Macclesfield can cause an upset it will see them in the fourth round for the first time in their history.