NEWCASTLE have submitted an improved offer for Paris St Germain striker Mevlut Erdinc, and expect to learn whether or not it has been accepted tomorrow.

Magpies manager Alan Pardew has been tracking Erdinc all summer, but the club’s initial offer for the Turkey international was rejected last month.

However, there was a new approach at the weekend, culminating in an increased bid of around £7m.

At the moment, there has been no formal response to Newcastle’s improved offer, but that should change tomorrow when former Brazil international Leonardo takes up his new post as Paris St Germain’s director of football.

Leonardo will assume control of the French club’s transfer policy, and is expected to make an immediate decision on Erdinc’s future.

The 24-year-old scored eight Ligue One goals last season, but tumbled down the PSG pecking order when they landed the highly-regarded Kevin Gameiro despite competition from a number of clubs including Newcastle.

PSG are expected to sell Erdinc to recoup some of Gameiro’s fee, but Newcastle’s pursuit could yet be hampered by competing interest from Galatasaray.

“It’s very difficult to comment on players where no agreement has been reached,” said Pardew, when asked to comment on the Erdinc situation. “He’s one of those players where we have no agreement.

“But there will be another striker coming in. We’re poised to do what we can and I still think we can bring in another two offensive players.”

A number of Newcastle players returned to pre-season training yesterday, but with the club staggering the start of their schedule, neither Jose Enrique nor Joey Barton were at Darsley Park.

Enrique is scheduled to start pre-season training tomorrow, and Pardew will hold immediate showdown talks with the full-back.

However, the Magpies manager is not particularly optimistic about the club’s chances of holding on to one of their prize assets.

Newcastle are prepared to offer Enrique a new five-year deal, but the terms of the contract are not understood to match the Spaniard’s demands.

Enrique is aware of interest from Liverpool and Arsenal, and is expected to outline a desire to leave St James’ Park this summer.

The 25-year-old will not be submitting a formal transfer request in an attempt to force through a move though, and is prepared to see out the final year of his deal if Newcastle refuse to accept a bid for his services.

“We’re trying to persuade him to sign,” said Pardew. “But with one year remaining on his contract and with his desire to play Champions League football at his age, it’s going to be difficult to keep him.

“It would be foolish of us not to have a back-up plan, which we have, and that will kick into operation if Jose leaves.

“There was a big part of me wondering if he wasn’t going to return for the first day, but it looks like he’s going to return and that’s good news.

“But I don’t think that yesterday’s developments (with Gael Clichy completing a move from Arsenal to Manchester City) help us. There will be a lot of speculation about who will replace him at Arsenal, and that doesn’t really help.”

Barton will return to training today, and while there will be no new contract offer before the start of the season, the midfielder appears to be in a different position to Enrique.

With limited interest in acquiring Barton’s services, Pardew is ready to offer the 28-year-old a key role in this season’s starting line-up before initiating a new round of contract discussions next summer.

“Joey is his own man, but sometimes he has an opinion that can change,” he said. “The most important thing with Joey is that he sees the squad has real quality in it.

“He came to see me at times last season and was frustrated that we weren’t getting the results to match the performances he was putting in.

“His contract situation has been difficult, and at times I think he would be the first to admit he hasn’t helped the cause.“I think I have a good relationship with Joey and if I can keep him where he was last year for another year, for another season, who is to say we can’t agree another deal?

 “Joey wants success, so he needs to see that success on the pitch. If we can give that to him, he could stay.”

Newcastle have signed Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and Sylvain Marveaux this summer for a combined fee of £4.5m, but with managing director Derek Llambias having previously pledged to spend all of the £35m that was raised from the sale of Andy Carroll, Pardew has warned the club’s fans not to overlook the sums that have been committed to wages and agents’ fees.

“When you sign someone like Ba or Marveaux, there are huge finances involved in that,” he said, during a talk-in on BBC Radio Newcastle. “It’s not just transfer fees. Lots of money in those deals doesn’t come back into the system, it goes out through agents.

“We have spent a fair amount of money this summer to sign three players, more than fans maybe realise. If you are simply adding up the money to see if we get to the £35m, you are going to be way off.

“But Mike promised to put that money back into the club and that is what is going to happen. I know how much money has gone into transforming the training ground, and we're also trying to locate one or two development players, and that won’t be cheap either. Mike and Derek’s backing has been excellent, I have to say that.”

* Newcastle’s final pre-season fixture will be a home game with Italian side Fiorentina on Saturday, August 6 (ko 3pm).