AN increasingly frustrated Graeme Souness last night admitted Newcastle United's search for a striker is in grave danger of drawing a blank before next week's transfer window deadline.

Despite Shola Ameobi's claims he can become the Magpies' 20-goals a season man, chairman Freddy Shepherd has been working feverishly to bolster Souness' squad with two forwards.

Deportivo La Coruna became the latest club to deny Newcastle yesterday by rejecting an improved bid - believed to be £11m - for striker Albert Luque.

Luque had agreed terms with the club and, as Luis Boa Morte and Nicolas Anelka have also found this summer, his current employer is refusing to allow him to move to St James' Park.

Now Souness, whose side go to Bolton tonight looking for their first win and first goal of the season, is having to revert to square one in his bid to find competition for Alan Shearer and Ameobi.

When the Scot spoke yesterday he claimed deals for Boa Morte and Anelka were 'dead' - but talks are still thought to be taking place between Shepherd and his opposite numbers at Fulham and Fenerbahce.

Boa Morte has always been Souness' first choice yet he has ended up offering almost double the Portuguese man's valuation for second-choice Luque.

But the under-pressure Newcastle boss remains focussed on the job in hand and is praying Shepherd will come good on the transfer front before the closure of the window a week today.

"In an ideal world we would have had them in for the first day of pre-season training. We would have liked everything in place for then. We have been very active in trying to bring players in," said Souness. "I think Sir Bobby (Robson), Ruud (Gullit), Kenny (Dalglish), even Kevin (Keegan) found it the same here. Why would I find it any different?

"We are sitting here obviously missing a couple of players which would make us a different team. My attitude is that someone sometime is going to get this job right. I believe we are close.

"The group of players I have now in terms of quality and in terms of character are better than when I first walked through the door.

"The two I am after will take us to the next level. Without suffering any long-term injuries we could have a very good season.

"I can only focus on trying to do my job. I'm here to do my very best. I can promise I will do that. I can't promise more than that.''

Ameobi returns from a three-game suspension at the Reebok Stadium tonight and is determined to make up for lost time.

The former England Under-21 international, who has set himself an against the odds target of a place in Sven-Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad next summer, is confident enough in his own ability to suggest he is the man to fire Newcastle into the Champions League.

Ameobi has been kicking his heels on the training field as names such as Michael Owen, Christian Vieri, Luque and Anelka have all been touted as the club's latest arrival.

But the 23-year-old, with just 16 league goals in the past five seasons, said: "Every year is a big one but this one especially is, with it being Alan's last year.

"I want to establish myself. The only way to do that is to score. It's a massive season because I have still to prove myself in terms of scoring 15, 20 goals a season.

"That's my aim . If I don't do that I will have had a bad season. I know I can do it, I'm confident I will."

Ameobi could be thrust straight into the starting line-up at Bolton tonight.

l Spanish side Valencia have signed Hugo Viana on a season-long loan.

The 22-year-old Portugal midfielder joined Newcastle for £8.5m from Sporting Lisbon in 2002 but, after an initial bright start, failed to settle in the North-East and spent the 2004-05 campaign back on loan to Sporting Lisbon.

Viana looked set to join Spanish club Celta Vigo on loan earlier this summer, but that deal fell through, while he had been touted as a possible makeweight in Newcastle's bid to sign Albert Luque from Deportivo La Coruna.

With that transfer off, Valencia made their move, and Viana's arrival will strengthen a midfield depleted by the serious knee injury sustained recently by former Arsenal midfielder Edu.

Included in the package taking him to the Mestalla is an option for Valencia to make the transfer permanent after the loan, and an undisclosed loan fee.

In joining Valencia, Viana will join up with former Magpies striker Patrick Kluivert who left the North-East in the summer.

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