Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan hopes to have up to four new players at his disposal by the time the transfer window closes on Monday.

Keegan will send out a patched-up side at Arsenal on Saturday night knowing his current squad is well short of where he wants it to be, particularly after James Milner's £12million departure for Aston Villa.

However, talks with owner Mike Ashley on Wednesday left him certain the billionaire is committed to the vision for the club he was sold back in January and will finance a series of late swoops.

Young Boys of Berne defender Kamil Zayatte, who trained with the Magpies on Friday, is one of several potential targets currently under discussion on Tyneside, with Keegan revealing talks over two purchases are at an advanced stage.

He said: "We have got four or five irons in the fire at the moment, two of which are pretty well down the line and three which are could bes, maybes, and he [Zayatte] is one of those could be, maybes.

"We have had him training this morning. He looks like a player who could certainly improve us.

"He plays three or four positions, and I like those sort of players.

"We will see where we go.

"I have got to talk to [executive director (football)] Dennis [Wise] and [vice-president (player recruitment)] Tony [Jimenez] about it."

Keegan was at pains to stress it was he, despite his previous insistence that Milner was not for sale, who ultimately had sanctioned the deal which took him to Villa Park.

He was equally adamant the cash raised was not the main reason for that decision.

Asked what difference that might make to his recruitment plans, he said: "I don't think it makes any difference.

"The money was there to go and buy players even if we didn't sell James Milner.

"We haven't sold James Milner to finance another deal, we sold him because we - and I mean all of us - thought it was right for everybody."

In the meantime, Keegan will head to the Emirates Stadium as Newcastle boss for the third time since he returned to the club in January with his squad decimated by injuries.

Obafemi Martins, Damien Duff, Mark Viduka, Geremi and Claudio Cacapa are all injured, and with Milner having departed, Keegan faces the task of knitting together a side from what he has left.

Joey Barton, who was not expected to play for the club again until after his visit to the Football Association on Friday, could figure, while Michael Owen is likely to start after scoring as a substitute against both Bolton and Coventry in the last week.

Keegan said: "I am really pleased with the attitude of my players.

"They hear and see a lot of things going on around the club, but they have just focussed on the main thing that their lives are about, and that is being professional footballers - and they have done it very well.

"This is a big test now for us again and we have got to see how we measure up to that."