McLeish has brought in a quartet of back-four players during the summer including Roger Johnson from Cardiff for £5million - the most City have paid for a defender.

But now the former Scotland boss wants to bring in new blood in the centre of the park amidst speculation linking Blues with an unsuccessful bid for Patrick Vieira.

McLeish told Birmingham's official website: "I believe we are short in the midfield area and that's a position I want to strengthen.

"We are looking for players that are not fazed at the prospect of going up to Old Trafford.

"I would like to get a player of real authority with the ball in central midfield."

McLeish admitted: "They are not easy to find and it can be very costly, which is why we tried to do as much research on players as we could over the closing weeks of last season.

"When we qualified for the Premier League in early May, it allowed us to go out and about and look at many, many players, right through to the end of the season before taking some holidays this month."

Blues expect to sign Lee Bowyer, who spent the second half of last season on loan from West Ham, in the next few days.