Big Sam not expecting Sven to lure Owen from Newcastle to Manchester City

Manager Sam Allardyce has spent much of the last few weeks considering alternatives should City counterpart Sven-Goran Eriksson follow up his interest in the 27-year-old England international when the transfer window opens.

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However, it is understood he has been in touch with the Swede to check on his intentions, and has been told Owen's injury problems have put the north-west club off making any move.

That will come as a relief to 53-year-old Allardyce, who hopes to have the former Liverpool and Real Madrid star back in action after his thigh problem by next week.

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And with Nigeria international Obafemi Martins due to head off on African Nations Cup duty for up to six weeks after the Barclays Premier League clash with City at St James' Park on January 2, that will have eased at least one headache.

Allardyce started the season with a quartet of experienced strikers in Owen, Martins, summer signing Mark Viduka and Shola Ameobi, although injuries to the England man and the Australian have limited options.

However, Martins' impending departure and Viduka's international commitments mean any bid for Owen could leave Allardyce in a difficult position with Middlesbrough and Glenn Roeder's Norwich both keeping tabs on Ameobi.

Martins took his tally for the season to seven with a penalty in Saturday's 2-1 win over Birmingham, while Owen has three goals to his name but has managed only 11 appearances to date.

Indeed, the club's record signing has made only 21 starts since his arrival at St James' in August 2005, and Allardyce will be desperate for him to put together an uninterrupted run as the season enters its second half.

The manager has identified the areas in which he hopes to strengthen next month, although to just what extent owner Mike Ashley is prepared to back him financially remains to be seen.

But what is clear is that the African Nations Cup will leave a major dent in his resources with Martins by no means the only man who could miss a significant proportion of the season.

Geremi, Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye will also be away representing Cameroon and Senegal, robbing the manager of three of his summer acquisitions.

While he always knew that might be the case, Allardyce admits their departures will leave a major hole in his squad.

Allardyce said: "Of course it is causing me concern. We all know what Martins, Geremi and Faye are capable of, and now Beye has started to play and is showing why we brought him here."

For all he is not expected to have serious money to spend in January, Allardyce has his network of scouts working tirelessly in an attempt to identify fresh talent for when the opportunity arises.

He said: "We are constantly monitoring the situation. Our scouts are out 24/7 and we will just have to see how we go.

"They are under instructions to find us quality players but to tell the truth at this moment in time, there are not that many of them out there."

Meanwhile, Faye, Ameobi, Claudio Cacapa and Damien Duff were due to play in a behind-closed-doors friendly this afternoon as they stepped up their comebacks from injury.