Keegan told bid for Turan is £4.5m short

9:06am Tuesday 20th May 2008

GALATASARAY president Adnan Polat has told Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan he can sign Arda Turan tomorrow if he tables a formal bid of around £13m.

Polat has held a number of preliminary discussions with senior Newcastle representatives as he attempts to tackle his club's debts of more than £45m.

The Turkish chief has admitted he is unable to hold on to Turan, a creative left-footed midfielder who is one of Galatasaray's leading lights.

The 21-year-old is almost certain to leave Istanbul this summer, and Newcastle are hoping to complete a deal before Polat joins up with the Turkey squad ahead of this summer's European Championships.

However, the Magpies are yet to table a formal bid and Galatasaray officials are growing increasingly frustrated with their reluctance to raise their valuation of around £8.5m.

That still leaves them £4.5m short of Galatasaray's asking price, and Polat is adamant if Newcastle want to beat off competition from a number of leading German clubs, they will have to table an increased offer.

"We have not received an official offer," said Polat.

"But if Newcastle were to make an offer like this (16m Euros), I would let Arda go."

Newcastle's pursuit of Turan gathered momentum over the weekend, but Keegan's hopes of signing another of the club's leading transfer targets, Manchester City centre-half Richard Dunne, look like being scuppered by his own board's insistence that he pursues younger players.

And with the Magpies' interest in Dunne beginning to wane, Sunderland are ready to step in for the highly-rated defender.

Keegan identified Dunne as a possible summer signing but the Magpies manager also knows that Dunne's age falls outside of the bracket currently being explored by executive director (football) Dennis Wise and vicepresident (player recruitment) Tony Jimenez.

Wise and Jimenez, who appear to have de facto control of Newcastle's recruitment policy, are committed to signing younger players with a higher sellon value, and were represented at Stuttgart's 2-2 draw with Armenia Bielefeld this weekend in order to monitor 22-yearold striker Mario Gomez.

While Dunne is hardly a veteran, he will be 29 in September and the Magpies hierarchy are understood to be reluctant to hand long-term contracts to players of that age.

Keegan will attempt to push Dunne's cause but it seems unlikely that the former Everton trainee will be moving to St James' Park in the current transfer window.

He is equally unlikely to still be a Manchester City player come September, and Sunderland have emerged as surprise suitors as they look to bolster a defence that conceded 59 goals.

Black Cats boss Roy Keane will speak to Sir Alex Ferguson in the wake of tomorrow's Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea in an attempt to sign Jonny Evans on a permanent basis, but even if the Northern Irishman signs Keane will still be looking to sign at least one more centre-half before the start of next season.

Keane's scouts have watched a number of different defenders in the last three months, but Dunne is one of his leading targets following an impressive campaign at the heart of the City defence.

Dunne will link up with the Republic of Ireland's training squad on Thursday, bringing him into close contact with Daryl Murphy, Liam Miller and Paul McShane.

* Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards have been named in the Trinidad & Tobago squad to face England on June 1.

Jones is still nursing the fractured wrist he sustained in Sunderland's final game of the season against Arsenal but, as revealed in last week's Northern Echo, the striker is confident of playing against England with the aid of a protective soft cast.

* Sunderland will play two games in the Republic of Ireland as part of their pre-season programme.

The Black Cats will play Athlone Town at their 6,000-capacity Lissywoollen ground, on Thursday August 7 (7.30pm), before facing Shamrock Rovers at Dublin's 7,000-capacity Tolka Park on August 9 (7.30pm).