LONDON (AP) -The global economic turmoil may be forcing shops to slash prices, but European football clubs won't expect be expecting similar winter bargains when the January transfer window opens Thursday.
Even West Ham, with its owner facing bankruptcy due to the collapse of Iceland's banking sector, says it won't be selling its best talent on the cheap.
Likewise, even though Manchester City is now bankrolled by wealthy Arab investors, manager Mark Hughes has said he won't be embarking on an unchecked spending spree - despite being linked with many of the world's best players from Kaka to Lionel Messi.
City broke the British transfer record to bring in $50 million Brazil striker Robinho on the last day of the September transfer window as Abu Dhabi United were finalizing its purchase of the underachieving club.
"We're aware of this assumption about the level of finance that we'll throw at the project in January, but we still have realistic market values," Hughes said Wednesday. "There is also an assumption that we will stimulate the market, that the money sloshing around will be from the deals that we have started, but we have to make sure we protect the club as well."
City's transfer ambitions are likely to be modest in this transfer window, as many of the world's best players are committed to teams competing in the Champions League and are unlikely to want to move midseason to a club only two points above the relegation zone.
"We know that there will be a premium that we will probably have to pay because it's January, and teams don't want to lose their better players," Hughes said. "But it will not be to the extent where we are paying hugely over the market value."
Buying from the continent will cost more than 12 months ago with the pound losing 30 percent of its value against the euro.
For instance Portsmouth's deal to sign Algeria defender Nadir Belhadj from Lens for ?4.5 million on Tuesday would have equated to 3.3 million pounds last January, but is a million pounds more now.
Some Pompey players, including Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson, are being linked with moves to Tottenham to be reunited with manager Harry Redknapp.
"If the price is right and (Portsouth) want to sell (Defoe) and it's what we consider at our valuation and theirs, then fine.," Redknapp said Wednesday. "There are other options as well, I have a little list and if we don't get one we can move to another."
A Tottenham bid for West Ham striker Craig Bellamy has already been turned down.
Spurs replaced Juande Ramos with Redknapp in October to arrest their decline, but are only out of the drop zone on goal difference.
