Newcastle swoop for Smith

Alan Smith: Leeds may be forced to sell their star striker

14 April 2012

Leeds United were last night poised to accept Newcastle's audacious £ 3million bid for England striker Alan Smith.

The departure of home-town hero Smith, 23, a symbol of the combative attitude embodied in the club's traditions, would be the final blow for suffering Leeds fans.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd is piling on the agony. He believes he can snatch Smith for as little as £3m because relegation-haunted Leeds - £83m in debt - need the cash to see them through to the end of the season.

They were yesterday granted a stay of execution by their major creditors, who extended the deadline for chief executive and acting chairman Trevor Birch to find an acceptable solution.

Birch hopes the players will accept 30 per cent wage deferrals to help provide the £5m-plus required to keep operating while he tries to sell the club, although the squad is said to be split over the issue.

Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson has long admired Smith and is undaunted by the Leedsborn striker's record of nine red cards since he marked his League debut with a goal against Liverpool at Anfield. Pairing Smith with Alan Shearer would give Newcastle the firepower to revive their bid for a Champions League place.

Shepherd stepped in a year ago to sign centre half Jonathan Woodgate from Leeds in a controversial £9m deal and he is confident he can now exploit the club's financial dilemma again to land Smith on the cheap.

Birch has so far resisted the sales of Smith, Paul Robinson and Mark Viduka but must raise money this week if Leeds are to be granted a further reprieve by U.S. bondholders and financiers REFF. With Viduka in Australia alongside his sick father, Smith has become the prime candidate if a sacrifice has to be made since Manchester City signed David James after considering a move for Robinson.

Former deputy chairman Allan Leighton is still working on a rescue deal, while long-time fan Sheik Abdul Mubarak al-Khalifa refuses to admit defeat over his well-publicised hope of a £35m deal.

Leeds' squad are in touch with the PFA over the proposed wage deferrals but are set to bite the bullet. A source close to the players said: 'People should remember not every player at Leeds earns £50,000-a-week like Viduka.'

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