NO figure has been mentioned – but Paul Jewell fully expects there to be money for him to spend in the January transfer window.

The Blues boss may have brought in a plethora of players to the club, but with the majority being free transfers and loanees he has actually only spent just under �2.5million of the �8.1m received from Sunderland for Connor Wickham in the summer.

Keeper David Stockdale and defender Danny Collins have returned to their parent clubs recently, while midfielder Keith Andrews also sees his loan spell expire in a few days’ time.

And with 16 players – including the likes of Carlos Edwards, Grant Leadbitter and Jason Scotland – in the final year of their contracts, Jewell arguably needs reinforcements in virtually every position.

Asked if he had been given a budget, Jewell said no figure had been discussed, but did say: “If you look at what (owner) Marcus Evans has done since he’s come to the club, I wouldn’t think he’ll be penny pinching. He has certainly not said there’s no money there.

“You have to speculate to accumulate, but at the same you can’t be silly about it. We want to be as ambitious as we possibly can without being stupid.”

Jewell, who revealed that one of the two players he has made enquiries about got injured on Boxing Day, continued: “I think if we can improve a position in the team, whatever that position is, we would like to do it.

“We’ve had lots of loan players and short-term deals, but now I want to go out and get players in January that are going to be here for three years or more.

“We’ve got to have realistic targets though and make sure we get the right ones.”