Parker set to join Souness' rebuilding plans

The manager of Newcastle United, Graeme Souness, hopes to announce today that his midfield rebuilding programme is under way with the arrival of Scott Parker from Chelsea.

The manager of Newcastle United, Graeme Souness, hopes to announce today that his midfield rebuilding programme is under way with the arrival of Scott Parker from Chelsea.

The 24-year-old England international's agent was on Tyneside yesterday after the Magpies were given permission to talk to a player Chelsea signed for £10m last January. They are confident that they can push through a £6.5m deal within the next 24 hours and foresee no problems in agreeing personal terms and completing the formality of a medical with the player due to fly in from a holiday in Portugal.

The club were confident that they had beaten Everton to Parker's signature some time ago. But the emergence of Tottenham Hotspur proved a sizeable obstacle, particularly after the former Charlton Athletic midfielder was mooted as a possible solution to the row between Spurs and Chelsea over the compensation package for the alleged poaching of sporting director Frank Arnesen.

However, the deterioration of relations between the two clubs has allowed the Magpies to make a seemingly decisive move. A £7.5m offer from Wigan Athletic foundered on the player's wage demands.

Efforts to offload those who are dispensable at St James Park are also moving forward with Birmingham City having been given permission to speak to Lee Bowyer, and Laurent Robert having spoken to Bolton and due to meet Portsmouth. Both Newcastle and Bolton said that no deal for the 30-year-old had been completed.

The future of Craig Bellamy remains uncertain, though the Welsh international striker is thought to be high up on Everton's shopping list.

While Parker is on the way out of Stamford Bridge, the Milan defender Kakha Kaladze claimed that he will meet Chelsea officials in Moscow today to discuss a £4m move - though a Chelsea spokesman denied all knowledge of a trip to Russia from west London. The club is thought to be close to wrapping up a £12m deal for another defender, the Athletic Bilbao left-back Asier Del Horno.

Chelsea have, however, denied any interest in signing Park Ji-Sung, PSV Eindhoven's South Korean international who is a target for Manchester United.

The Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo was flying to Italy yesterday to talk about a new loan deal with Milan. The Argentinian international is set to stay another year with the Italian side.