PHIL Parkinson admits his recruitment budget remains a “grey area” as he starts talks over potential summer recruits.

The City chief has opened discussions with several of the names on his shopping list for next season.

He is also sitting down this week with the current crop whose deals are due to expire.

Parkinson has a bigger pot this year after City's FA Cup exploits but does not know if his spending power will be swelled further by a successful takeover.

Should Gianni Paladini’s ongoing bid to buy the club go through, it is unlikely to happen before the end of the month at the earliest.

In the mean time, Parkinson is not bothered about fielding queries from players and their representatives on the situation.

He said: “It’s a question that gets asked because it’s out there in the media.

“There’s nothing dramatically different. Takeovers go on at a lot of clubs and if it happens, it will happen.

“Sometimes talks become public, at other times they don’t. This particular case is out there.

“We just continue as normal. I talk to Julian (Rhodes) and Mark (Lawn) and they’ll tell me if anything changes.

“We’ve got a list of players in the positions we want and we are working our way down that.

“I’ve had a couple of meetings with people already and have got two or three more planned for this week. We’re making progress but it’s very early in the summer.

“We have to make sure we get the best value for the money that is available.

“The only grey area at the moment is exactly what money is available but we have options to juggle things round.”

Chris Routis and Mark Yeates, two of those waiting to hear about their Valley Parade futures, have both gone under the knife this week.

Routis underwent minor surgery on cartilage in his knee and Yeates had an operation on the shoulder problem that troubled him last season.

Billy Clarke also had exploratory surgery to “wash out” the cartilage in his knee.

Parkinson added: “They’ve been having discomfort in the last couple of months of the season but just got on with it, which is good.

“There were a few others like Darbs (Stephen Darby) having an injection in his groin and Andy Halliday in his hamstring, as well as Dava (Andrew Davies).

“It’s good to get these things sorted out early so they are cleared up well before pre-season.”