NEWCASTLE will make a £5million bid for Alan Smith in the next few days.
But they plan to let Leeds KEEP the England forward until the end of the season.
The Toon believe their offer will prove a ‘perfect deal’ for both cash-strapped Leeds and their hitman.
The key to its success is allowing passionately loyal Smith to see through his club’s battle for survival to the end.
Newcastle aim to sign a pre-contract agreement for the player, after agreeing a fee, and then loan him back until the summer.
The Geordies know they face stiff competition from a Premiership pack including Arsenal and Manchester United.
But the Gunners, hit by injuries and African Nations Cup absences, will want any new buy in action promptly.
And a move to Old Trafford, where £12m Louis Saha will arrive from Fulham today, would be difficult for staunch Tyke Smith.
Newcastle hope their ‘buy now, play later’ scheme will be sufficiently tempting as Leeds do all they can to hold off their creditors.
The club has only days to bring in £5m to stave off administration.
But chief executive Trevor Birch has fought all along against selling players and yesterday moved to reject a £5m Spurs bid for keeper Paul Robinson and young striker James Milner.
It looks like that deal will take at least £10m to force through.
Italian Serie A outfit Siena have also had a bid for full-back Ian Harte snubbed.
In an attempt to cut costs, Birch was hoping to terminate the contracts of defenders Zoumana Camara and Didier Domi.
But both have refused to sign papers allowing Leeds to cancel their season-long deals from Lens and Paris St Germain respectively.
Agent Willy Mackay declared: “It’s all very messy and smacks of desperation to me. Leeds have gone the wrong way about things.”
Mackay has dropped a further bombshell on United by revealing that Lamine Sakho and Salomon Olembe will leave before the close of the transfer window at the end of the month.
Boss Eddie Gray was hoping to keep the two summer loan signings from Marseille, who are currently on African Nations Cup duty with Senegal and Cameroon.
Mackay has negotiated transfers for them when they return from Tunisia.
Midfielder Olembe is poised to join Blackburn, while another unnamed Premiership club will sign forward Sakho.
Another loan star on his way out is Roque Junior. He has agreed to have his contract terminated, with the AC Milan defender now likely to join Hamburg.
Leeds players yesterday issued a statement to try to quell fan anger over their apparent aversion to wage deferrals of 30 per cent.
It stated: “We are together as a team and no decision has yet been made one way or the other on whether to defer a percentage of our wages.”
While Sir Bobby Robson hopes to bring Smith to St James’ Park, his injury-prone £7m striker Carl Cort is about to join Wolves for £2m.
But Toon boss Robson rapped suggestions that Cort was like Spanish misfit Marcelino, who left the club last year.
He said: “I wish Carl well. The boy has gone from one horrific injury to another. He was never Marcelino. He’s not a hypochondriac. He had genuine injuries.”
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