'He appreciated the club taking the initiative to talk to him, which is what we promised we would do if he had a successful season.
'There has been a lot of speculation about clubs from abroad but I am not bothered about that. The key thing is that he is under contract to us for four years. Hopefully, that will soon be five. I sincerely hope matters will be concluded swiftly and there will be confirmation that Mark is not only staying but adding a further year to his agreement.'
Ridsdale's assured stance belies a growing belief that Viduka may yet be lured by persistent interest from some of Europe's top clubs.
A return of 22 goals in his first season at Elland Road brought him to the attention of Roma, Real Madrid and AC Milan, as well as Inter, and increased the likelihood of a return to the Continent for the former Croatia Zagreb striker.
Real saw him as a leading candidate to solve their quest for a target man to take some of the weight off Raul, while Roma boss Fabio Capello detected similarities to Christian Vieri in the Australia striker and was keen to add him to his title-winning squad.
Now Inter are leading the chase after promising new boss Hector Cuper substantial funds to transform the fortunes of a great club which has fallen on lean times.
With Vieri tipped to return to Juventus, Cuper views Viduka as an ideal replacement and is also exploring the possibility of enticing Olivier Dacourt and Ian Harte away from Leeds.
Dacourt has been offered a new contract and is expected to stay but Inter could have better luck with Harte, whose Elland Road future was in doubt in the early part of last season before he belatedly rediscovered his best form.
