JOE KINNEAR expects Newcastle United to complete the loan capture of QPR striker Loic Remy within the next 48 hours – and has also expressed confidence about the club's chances of resurrecting a deal for Darren Bent.

However, the director of football admits the Magpies have run into difficulties as they attempt to prise Bafetimbi Gomis from French club Lyon.

Newcastle's three-pronged striker search has been going on for the best part of a month now, but with the start of the Premier League season less than a fortnight away, a breakthrough remains as elusive as ever.

At the end of last week, it had looked as though Gomis was the most likely arrival, with Newcastle having agreed a fee of around £6.9m, with a further £1.7m of add-ons, with Lyon officials.

However, while that deal appears to have slipped over the weekend, Kinnear claims there has been considerable progress with regard to Remy, who is poised to leave Loftus Road this week.

The France international, who spurned Newcastle in order to move to London in January, was omitted from the QPR squad that started the Championship season with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, and while Harry Redknapp had previously downplayed the chances of him leaving on loan, Rangers owner Tony Fernandes has accepted a temporary transfer is the best way of removing Remy's £70,000-a-week wages from the payroll.

Newcastle are not the only club to have inquired about the 26-year-old's availability – Tottenham and Napoli also spoke with QPR officials at the end of last week – but Kinnear is bullish about their prospects of sealing a deal.

“I would like to think that we're very, very close to agreeing that,” said the director of football. “I would think maybe Monday or Tuesday we would be in a position to say 'yay' or 'nay', but I'm very happy with how that deal's going on at the moment. I'm very happy with the conversation that we've had.

“I've been over to QPR and I've spoken to the people that represent him and in my opinion, I think there's every chance that could take place.”

Last week, it had looked as though Newcastle's chances of signing Bent had all but disappeared after a meeting between Kinnear and the striker's representatives ended without any hint of an agreement.

With Fulham having indicated a willingness to significantly exceed Newcastle's initial £2m valuation of the England international and trump the Tyneside club's anticipated wage offer, Bent looked to be heading to Craven Cottage.

Sources close to the deal insist that is still the case, but Kinnear insists Newcastle's interest is not dead and further contact with Bent and his advisors is anticipated this week.

“We were with Darren's agents for two or three hours,” he said. “We thrashed out a deal. We're still in negotiation with Aston Villa, so there's a real strong possibility there.

“I hear the latest is that somebody else has all of a sudden shown interest in the player, so we have competition from various clubs around the country, but I'm not letting go.”

Kinnear also remains in close contact with Gomis and his assorted advisors, although the noises emanating from this side of the Channel are not as positive as some of the statements being made in France.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas delivered another interview over the weekend in which he effectively claimed that a deal with Newcastle was complete. In terms of the two clubs' negotiations, that is the case, but discussions with Gomis and his agents remain complicated and a number of key financial sticking points remain unresolved.

Lyon are clearly desperate to remove Gomis from their squad list, hence the almost daily updates which are designed to pile pressure on Newcastle to close a deal.

“That deal (for Gomis) we agreed on numerous occasions,” said Kinnear. “It's a very difficult agreement situation at the moment because from one day to the next, the goalposts are always moved.

“There's always extra add-ons, there's always one other thing, there's always another problem and then there's always the problem of competition from other teams.

“Whatever I've offered more or less goes public, and of course that alerts other people that are interested in him, and of course they tweak it a bit, add a little more.

“I go back and add another little bit more, and we're in that sort of war at the moment. Whatever I seem to do, someone comes in and bids above it, so I go back.

“We're fighting hard – there's two or three of us all seem to be wrapped round the same players. As I said to Mike (Ashley), this is a serious battle that we need to win, and we're very close to achieving that.

“It's tough out there. I'm well aware that everybody's concerned – and rightly so – but I'm not dragging my heels in any manner you know.”