A bumper new £8m pay offer from City... Sven's done it again!

If Eriksson accepts the challenge of leading the former Thai prime minister's assault on the Premiership, he will be guaranteed £2m a year for three years — with the possibility of an additional £2m in bonuses.

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The deal would comfortably make Eriksson City's highest paid manager and equates to more than three times what his predecessor Stuart Pearce was earning at the club. It will also not escape the notice of the FA that the figures roughly equal the £6,500-a-day the Swede has recently been paid as part of his severance deal after leaving the England job last summer.

Coincidentally, that arrangement is due to finish at the end of this month and it remains to be seen if Eriksson accepts City's offer of a return to English football.

Currently in Sweden mulling over the deal, Eriksson is expected to give City an answer within 24 hours now that Thaksin's takeover of the club is finally under way.

Thaksin said yesterday: "I know about his performance in the past. He is one of the top coaches in Europe. I've heard the criticism of him but nobody is perfect. He'll prove himself with us and as long as he can do the job, would like the job and is fit for it — and my advisers say 'OK, this is the man' — then I would support him."

During a dramatic day, Thaksin ended weeks of talks by acquiring a controlling interest in the club after making his £81.6million offer to major shareholders, including chairman John Wardle.

Currently facing corruption charges in Thailand, Thaksin assured City fans he will clear his name, vowing to spend big and compete with Manchester United.

He said: "If we come across many magical players and need them, we have to invest. When you invest millions of pounds in a club, then you have to buy an engine. If necessary £50m, or it could be £20m, £30m. It depends. We need to add two more strikers, two more midfielders and maybe a few more. It depends on who we can get."

Asked how he would tackle the City job, he said: "I am not a dictator. I am a strong leader. I am what you call a solution-orientated person."

Revealing that his plans include setting up academies in Asia and the Middle East, he added: "I'm quite confident that I can make Manchester City as popular as Liverpool and Manchester United in the next two or three years. It's a big ambition. I can dream. But we need to build the club step by step. First we have to make the sleeping giant wake up."

Should Sky, who own 9.9 per cent of City shares, sell up, it would take Thaksin's holding close to the 75 per cent needed to take the company off the Stock Exchange.

He has already been pledged 55.9 per cent of the club through irrevocable undertakings — shares owned by members of the board and ex-chairman Francis Lee. If things go to plan, Thaksin will be chairman and Wardle vice-chairman.