NEWCASTLE boss Graeme Souness will make a January swoop for unsettled Chelsea full-back Wayne Bridge in an attempt to shore up his side's leaky defence.

Souness, who is desperate to sign defensive re-inforcements when the transfer window swings open, discussed Bridge's position with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho in the aftermath of Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

And, while Mourinho recently claimed the 25-year-old had a future with the champions, sources in London suggest the Portuguese manager is willing to let him leave.

Whether that is on a loan or permanent basis remains to be seen. Mourinho has been a fan of temporary deals in the past - both Alexei Smertin and Jiri Jarosik are currently playing their Premiership football away from Chelsea - but he could be tempted to cash in on a player who is surplus to requirements.

Bridge has made just two senior appearances this season, and one of those came in England's friendly with Argentina earlier this month.

He was an established member of the first team in the opening half of last season, but has failed to re-establish himself after breaking his foot at St James' Park in February.

The summer purchase of Asier Del Horno sent him plummeting down the pecking order, with Mourinho even preferring the versatile William Gallas as his left-back cover.

With the World Cup less than seven months away, Bridge needs to be playing first-team football if he is to force his way into Sven Goran Eriksson's squad.

His poor performance in Geneva was a direct result of his lack of match practice and, with West Ham's Paul Konchesky also in the running for international honours, the former Southampton defender is interested in a prospective move to the North-East.

Souness is equally effusive about the possibility of signing a player who cost Chelsea £7m when he moved from St Mary's in July 2003.

The Magpies manager tried to sign Bridge on a season-long loan deal in August, only for Mourinho to refuse to release the defender.

"I tried to get him in on loan," confirmed Souness at the time. "It's an area we felt we could strengthen in, but Chelsea said he was not available.

"He is a modern full-back. All the modern full-backs were once wingers - I had him as a young boy at Southampton and he was a winger."

While first-choice full-back Celestine Babayaro has missed just two games this season, his previous injury record hardly inspires confidence.

To make matters worse, the Nigerian could be required for the African Nations Cup at the start of next year, forcing him to miss a crucial five-week chunk of the season.

Given that Robbie Elliott represents Newcastle's only cover, the need for another left-back is obvious, although reports suggesting Souness is interested in Aston Villa's Gareth Barry are wide of the mark.

Money could prove a problem, with Souness having spent almost £50m since replacing Sir Bobby Robson last September. The pot is hardly overflowing, but the Scot has hinted that he hopes to have limited finances available.

He will hope to have all of his injured attackers available well before that, after Shola Ameobi struggled in the lone striker's role on Saturday.

Michael Owen will return to full training tomorrow, while both Alan Shearer and Albert Luque will be back in the squad for this weekend's trip to Everton. Even Kieron Dyer is expected to be back in action before the Christmas schedule.

Ameobi lacks the physical strength needed to succeed with his back to goal and, after coming off second best to John Terry, the striker has admitted he much prefers to share the attacking burden with someone else.

"It's always more difficult to play as the lone striker and hopefully it won't be the case again," said Ameobi, who has scored just 33 goals in more than 180 appearances for the Magpies.

"It's difficult to take on three players on your own. I did all I could at Chelsea and gave it 100 per cent.

"But I was hoping to play with Michael Owen and I was looking forward to it. It was a real shame when he pulled out on Saturday morning and we missed him.

"The injuries have started to happen again and that's such a big disappointment. It looked as though things were picking up on that front."

Before Saturday, it also looked like things were improving at the back. The Magpies had kept six clean sheets in their last eight games prior to the trip to Stamford Bridge, only for two defensive errors to hand Chelsea victory on a plate.

"We shot ourselves in the foot again," said Ameobi. "That makes it incredibly hard for the lads to take. Chelsea have good players, but there was no genius about their goals.''