Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish is keen on Marseille duo Mamadou Niang and Brandao as the Blues' vice-chairman Sammy Yu promises to bring in up to five players to St Andrews in the New Year.

McLeish is understood to have made a personal check on l'OM's deadly strike force during their recent 1-1 draw AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League, a match in whih Niang was particularly impressive.

The 30-year-old is the captain at the Stade Velodrome and has scored nine goals already this season, while his strike partner, Brandao, has netted six times and joined the Ligue 1 giants in a £5million deal from Shakhtar Donetsk back in January.

Blues' new owner Carson Yeung has pledged to back McLeish to the tune of £40million whem the transfer window opens in January and Yu has insisted City would not be scared to spend big if a high-profile player became available.

"Our priority now is to strengthen the team and make sure it stays in the Premier League," Yu told the Birmingham Mail.

"By the end of January, you never know. It could be that something unexpected has happened. Subject to this priority, within the budget, we will do what we can do.

"So we can't say 'no', we can't say 'yes' (to spending big money on one player).

"But if a top-class player who is really keen because they know we are going forward, came over to us and talked, and we were sure their attitude was right, everything was right, even if they were expensive, we might concede that we need them as well.

"As for how many players, we totally understand that if it means two, three, four - even five - that it is not an issue. If they have ability, quality, the character and attitude - that's what counts."

The Blues are riding high in 11th place in the Premier League after a four game unbeaten run and they will hope to extent that when they travel to the DW Stadium to face Wigan Athletic on Saturday.