ANDY Carroll will agree to join West Ham United when he returns from his holiday, having accepted that Newcastle United will not be bidding for his services.

Liverpool accepted West Ham's £15m bid for Carroll shortly after the end of last season, but the striker, who spent most of last term on loan at Upton Park, is still to hold personal talks with Hammers officials.

Had Newcastle been willing to match West Ham's offer, it is believed the Gateshead-born striker would have preferred to return to Tyneside rather than agree to a permanent move to east London.

However, Carroll has grudgingly accepted that Newcastle will not be in a position to lodge a £15m offer this summer or match the £90,000-a-week the England international is currently earning at Anfield.

Returning to Liverpool is not an attractive option given that Brendan Rodgers has repeatedly rejected the possibility of Carroll being a regular member of his first-team squad.

Therefore, the North-Easterner is understood to have given West Ham boss Sam Allardyce a verbal indication that he will move to Upton Park this summer, and the technicalities of the switch should be completed before the end of the month.

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ABERDEEN are set to complete the signing of former Middlesbrough midfielder Barry Robson this week.

The 34-year-old ended last season with League One side Sheffield United after a move to Canadian outfit Vancouver Whitecaps failed to go to plan.

Robson was linked with a possible move to Aberdeen in January, only for financial issues to thwart a proposed deal, but Derek McInnes is set to confirm Robson's signature, having already agreed a deal for another former Boro midfielder, Willo Flood.

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TOTTENHAM are determined to hold on to Gareth Bale this summer despite continued interest in the double Player of the Year from abroad.

Spurs officials are due to meet with Bale when he returns from holiday, and they will tell him they intend to reject any offer they receive.

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EVERTON defender Johnny Heitinga is poised to leave Goodison Park, with Turkish club Fenerbahce having expressed an interest in him.

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ROBERTO Martinez still leads the race to be Everton's next manager, but the Wigan boss is not the only person under consideration.

Chairman Bill Kenwright is understood to have interviewed Ralf Rangnick, who is currently the sporting director of Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg.

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PORT VALE have signed Kaid Mohamed from Cheltenham on a free transfer, but John McCombe has left Vale to join League Two new-boys Mansfield Town.