However, with Emre, Stephen Carr, Peter Ramage and James Troisi having been shorn from an already small squad, Keegan will be more comfortable once he has boosted his resources in terms of both quality and numbers.To that end, he will hope for progress too on contract talks with striker Michael Owen and defender Steven Taylor, who each have a year left on their current deals.
Discussions with Owen are due to resume later this month, while the club is yet to reach agreement with England Under-21 skipper Taylor, something former star Steve Howey has urged them to do as a matter of urgency.
Howey said: "Steven can only get better, really.
"There have been a few times when he has been caught out but, all in all, I think he has done well when he has played.
"For me, he has been unfortunate with some of the players he has had to play alongside - people like Jean-Alain Boumsong, for one - but he needs to be trusted if he is to progress."