WHILE Thierry Henry is being hailed the best striker in Europe, it is another Frenchman who is taking Kevin Keegan's breath away.

Nicolas Anelka is everything the City boss thought he would be when he splashed out a club record £13m in the summer - and a whole lot more.

City will take six years to pay the transfer fee to Paris St Germain and Keegan believes it will prove to be one of the best pieces of business the Maine Road club has ever done.

"Nicolas will prove to be one of the great investments this club has ever made. He has been fantastic for us and has worked so hard in every game.

"He was great against Bolton but it is such a disappointment for him to have put so much into the game and not got the goal he deserved.

"Our disappointment was our inability to produce the telling final pass which Nicolas deserved.

"He made a great goal for Eyal Berkovic but he didn't get the same kind of service and we have got to get it to him. I think he is going to have to pass to himself in future."

City's performance was full of positives with the central defensive partnership of Sylvain Distin, Steve Howey and Richard Dunne unpenetrable, especially with the spoiling Kevin Horlock sat just in front of them, and Berkovic running the show in midfield.

"Eyal is enjoying his football here," added Keegan. "In the last ten games he has taken the responsibility on and been exceptional.

"He has pressure for his place when he sees Ali Benarbia sitting on the bench. Ali is a big player for us because if he had not been here we probably would not be in the Premiership now.

"I want to make the competition for places even more fierce and I will get that chance in January."

Keegan is believed to have between £7 million and £10 million to spend in the transfer window.

Keegan praised Wanderers' passing but said they never hurt his team.

"We played very well on a difficult surface apart from the first 10 to 15 minutes and we limited Bolton to hardly any chances which says we defended well.

"We passed it well and thoroughly deserved to win. Eyal Berkovic was very good and got the goal he deserved for his endeavours.

"Djorkaeff and Okocha are both exceptionally good players and when they get the ball they are wonderful. But Bolton only play with one up front whereas we have two up. When Eyal gets the ball and he sees two people ahead of him it helps him.

"Richard Dunne has really got his act together and with Howey and Distin they are the rock we can build on.

"Bolton played some good football. Sam's team is going to beat and draw with teams this season who we want to take points off.

"Now we go to another struggling club Sunderland and we have got to get something there.

"Outside the top four clubs it is dog eat dog. Anybody can beat anybody else.

"By beating Bolton we have eaten one of the dogs and when we go to Sunderland we have to make sure they don't eat us.

"This win has given us another platform on which we can spring up the table."