WEST Ham boss Alan Curbishley is poised to make a £3m offer for Newcastle midfielder Charles N'Zogbia.

But despite the Frenchman refusing to appear on the bench during the final game of last season at Vicarage Road, Magpies manager Sam Allardyce will resist the Hammers' attempts to poach one of his side's brightest young stars.

Curbishley is expected to make a formal approach for N'Zogbia now that Liverpool have all but completed the capture of highly-rated Israel international Yossi Benayoun.

That will force Curbishley to pursue a left-winger of his own, as sources in London suggest the West Ham boss is reluctant to start the season with Matthew Etherington as his only left-footed midfielder.

N'Zogbia has emerged as his leading target, and Curbishley is confident of fighting off the attention of Bolton Wanderers in order to land the 21-year-old.

Earlier in the summer, his efforts would almost certainly have proved successful.

N'Zogbia started just ten Premiership matches as he slipped out of the first-team picture last season, and his reputation on Tyneside was left in tatters when he walked out of Vicarage Road ahead of the final game of the campaign.

That display of petulance led Magpies chairman Freddy Shepherd to claim that he "needed his backside smacked", but Allardyce has attempted to build some bridges since being appointed as Glenn Roeder's replacement in May.

The former Bolton boss is aware that first-choice left-winger Damien Duff is out of action until early November because of a foot injury, and would consequently be reluctant to lose one of the few left-footers in the Newcastle team.

N'Zogbia's intentions are far harder to gauge, as the former Le Havre trainee is known to have grown thoroughly disillusioned with life on Tyneside last season.

His demise began with the departure of his compatriot, Jean-Alain Boumsong, last summer, but sources close to the club suggest that his demeanour during this month's pre-season training camp in Austria hinted at a new maturity that could result in a willingness to buckle down at St James' Park.

N'Zogbia is not the only player whose future is likely to be called into question in the next two weeks, as Arsenal continue to be linked with a multi-million pound bid for Magpies striker Obafemi Martins.

Despite splashing out £8m to sign Croatia international Eduardo da Silva, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is ready to take advantage of the £13m release clause in Martins' current Newcastle contract.

The Nigeria international is understood to have informed United officials that he wants to re-negotiate the agreement he signed last summer when he made a £10m move from Inter Milan.

Martins' current deal is believed to be worth around £60,000-a-week, but the 22-year-old is keen to gain a raise that will take him nearer to the £110,000 that Michael Owen is understood to earn every seven days.

Newcastle officials are expected to rebuff Martins' demands, and that is likely to provide the green light for Wenger to make a formal approach that will trigger the controversial buyout clause in the striker's contract.

Former Newcastle reserve captain Kris Gate has begun a week-long trial at League Two side Bradford City. The 22-year-old defender was released from St James' Park at the end of last season.