MICK HARFORD will join Newcastle United's backroom staff this week as assistant to director of football Joe Kinnear.

But the pair face a battle to land leading transfer target Bafetimbi Gomis after Marseille indicated a willingness to make their own move for the Lyon striker.

Harford will be officially confirmed as Kinnear's assistant later this week after conducting talks about a backroom role at St James' Park over the weekend.

The pair are close friends, with Harford having played under Kinnear during his time at Wimbledon before following Newcastle's director of football to Luton Town and Nottingham Forest as part of his coaching staff.

The 54-year-old is not expected to be involved in any coaching at Newcastle, with his role likely to involve domestic scouting and more general recruitment issues. However, his appointment will still be an extremely controversial one.

Despite having played for Newcastle between August 1981 and March 1982, Sunderland-born Harford is a self-confessed fan of the Black Cats, with his personal twitter feed containing numerous references to his Wearside roots and continued support of the Magpies' fiercest rivals.

His arrival will also further undermine the position of manager Alan Pardew by strengthening Kinnear's support base in the Newcastle set up.

While there is no indication at this stage that Pardew's position is directly under threat, it will not have escaped anyone's attention that Kinnear now effectively has his own backroom set up in place should Pardew be dismissed and the director of football be asked to take over first-team affairs.

Given Kinnear's previous failings during his time in charge of the club, that would be a nightmare scenario for most Newcastle supporters, but Mike Ashley is known to be extremely supportive of the volatile 66-year-old.

Kinnear's primary task at the moment is to try to secure that signings that are so desperately needed with less than four weeks to go until the start of the Premier League season.

It looked like there had been a breakthrough last week when Newcastle officials secured permission to speak to Gomis, but it has subsequently emerged that they are not the only club conducting detailed negotiations with the France international.

Aston Villa have also been in discussions, although Christian Benteke's decision to sign a new contract appears to have dampened their interest, and over the weekend, Marseille emerged as strong competitors for Gomis' signature.

The Ligue 1 club are prepared to table their own offer to Lyon officials, and while Gomis has previously spoken of his desire to play in England, there are strong personal and footballing incentives for him to remain in France.

Ironically, in order for Marseille to sign Gomis, they may first have to sell £10m rated Andre-Pierre Gignac, who is another striker being monitored by the Magpies.

Gomis' arrival would almost certainly result in Gignac's departure, and Newcastle have inquired about the 27-year-old on a number of occasions in the past.

Newcastle's pursuit of another target, Darren Bent, has also run in to further complications, as Fulham have hardened their interest in the England international.

At this stage, the Cottagers are believed to be more willing to get close to Aston Villa's £8m valuation of Bent than the Magpies.

To make matters worse for Pardew, Shola Ameobi, one of the few attackers currently on Newcastle's books, was unable to complete Saturday's 3-1 friendly defeat to Portuguese side Rio Ave after suffering a wrist injury.

Ameobi, who scored Newcastle's goal in northern Portugal, left the field clutching his wrist and was immediately taken to a local hospital for an X-ray.

Egyptian striker Ahmed Hassan Mahgoub scored twice inside the opening ten minutes as a reasonably strong Magpies side made a poor start to the opening game of their Portuguese trip.

Braga added a third for Rio Ave shortly before the half-hour mark, and while Ameobi pulled a goal back with 14 minutes left, the hosts would have added a fourth had Rob Elliot not saved Sandro Lima's penalty.

NEWCASTLE: Alnwick (Elliot 46); Santon (Williamson 70), Yanga-Mbiwa, S Taylor, Dummett; Anita (Campbell 76), Cabaye (Tiote 46); Marveaux (Obertan 46), Vuckic (Sissoko 46), Gutierrez (Sammy Ameobi 46); Gouffran (Shola Ameobi 62).