The City chief has made it clear that the England Under-21 international, who has been tipped for a full cap in the near future, is central to his building plans for the Blues.

That will be bad news for Everton, Liverpool and Spurs who have all been sniffing a near £10m deal for the midfielder who has made a big impact in his 30 Premiership starts.

Hughes sees Johnson's running power and goal potential from the engine room as a key element in the style and tactics he hopes will improve on last season's ninth place finish.

"We have had no enquiries for him and Michael is a big part of what we want to do here," insisted the new boss.

"He has great potential and it doesn't surprise me that good players like him should attract interest from elsewhere, but from my stance I very much want him to stay and, hopefully, we can resolve his contract
negotiations very quickly."

Though injury took a large chunk out of his campaign last term, Johnson showed enough for Sven-Goran Eriksson to label the 22-year-old a future England international and to reward his progress with the pledge of a pay rise.

His representatives recently got around the table with new City chief operating officer Paul Aldridge and more talks are planned.

"The signs are positive all around," reckoned a spokesman for the player.