WITH the transfer window having opened this morning, Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear is ready to kick off his spending by making an early swoop for Kyle Naughton.

The Sheffield United fullback, who turned 20 last November, is one of the most highly-rated defenders outside the Premier League, and the Magpies are ready to table a £1.5m offer for his services.

Executive director Dennis Wise is known to have watched the right-back on two separate occasions in December, and while Kinnear had originally intended Naughton, pictured below, to provide cover for first-choice full-back Habib Beye, recent events have altered the situation.

Beye is likely to be unavailable for more than two months after damaging knee ligaments in the Boxing Day defeat at Wigan, and with youngster David Edgar having had his limitations ruthlessly exposed in last weekend’s heavy defeat to Liverpool, Kinnear is desperate to sign an alternative as quickly as possible.

Naughton is set to be that alternative, even though he only boasts 23 senior appearances at Championship level.

Kinnear has previously claimed he would “not be afraid to sign Championship players”, and while Paddy Kenny, Michael Kightly and Joe Ledley have all been l i n ke d with St James’ Park, Naughton is understood to be his leading target from English football’s second tier.

The Sheffield-born youngster, a product of Sheffield United’s Academy system, spent the second half of last season on loan with Gretna, making his senior debut against Rangers and going on to make 18 appearances in the Scottish Premier League.

He returned to Yorkshire last summer, and made his Blades debut in August’s Carling Cup first-round game against Port Vale. He has gone on to make 22 more appearances for Kevin Blackwell’s side, with the quality of his performances earning him a call-up to the England Under- 21 side for November’s friendly against Czech Republic.

Blackwell is reluctant to sell anyone other than the t r a n s f e r - l i s t e d Kenny this month, but with finances at Bramall Lane tight, he could be forced to sanction further departures.

Newcastle are ready to make an initial offer of £1.5m, but with Hull and Blackburn also said to be interested, the price is likely to rise before a deal is secured.

Kinnear was told that funds will be available when he spoke with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley this week, but they will be limited and are likely to force him to scour the Championship market.

Kightly and Ledley are both of interest, but neither is understood to be a priority with Kinnear determined to sign both a right-back and a left-back this month.

He is also desperate to keep his current squad intact, and while the Italian media yesterday linked Inter Milan with a possible move for Michael Owen, Kinnear continues to insist the England international will be going nowhere this month.

He has also repeated his pledge that Shay Given will be remaining at St James’ Park. Both Arsene Wenger and Harry Redknapp are keen to sign the goalkeeper, with last weekend’s heroic display against Liverpool having confirmed his shotstopping abilities.

Given would command a fee of up to £10m, but with Newcastle only two points clear of the relegation zone, Kinnear insists there is no way he will be selling the Irishman this month.

“He won’t be leaving, he has no interest in that whatsoever,”

said the manager.

“He’s very comfortable at Newcastle. He loves the club – he’s part of the city and that suits us because he’s a world-class goalkeeper.”

Given will be back between the sticks when Newcastle travel to Hull in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, and after last weekend’s humiliation by Liverpool, Kinnear is looking for an aggressive response.

“I want us to get a bit of the ‘beast’ back in our performances, certainly in defence,”

he said. “We’ve got to be strong again and show a bit of the courage and spirit that we displayed in the games before Christmas.

We’re missing players and it’s killed us, but we’ve got to improve.

“Injuries have left us in tatters, but I expect a better level of performance than the one we put on against Liverpool.

“We know that, at Hull, it’s going to be a battle again. I dearly want to stay in the cup and all the players do too. It’s a real chance for us if we can get through January still in the competition and start getting some of these players back.”