Glenn Roeder is confident that Newcastle will win the race to sign Obafemi Martins.
Glenn Roeder is confident that Newcastle will win the race to sign Obafemi Martins from Internazionale.
The Magpies agreed a deal over the weekend, as revealed by skysports.com, with Inter for the Nigerian striker.
Talks between the player's agents and the Premiership side have been on-going over the past few days and a Newcastle delegation flew to Milan on Monday.
Roeder now insists that the £10 million plus deal is nearly complete and he hopes to have Martins signed in time to make his Premiership debut this weekend, despite the fact Portsmouth are still rivalling them for his signature.
"We've got club officials out there today in Milan trying to tie the deal up," Roeder told Sky Sports News.
"I think we are virtually there with an agreement with the player, with the club and the agents.
"There's quite a bit of paperwork to be done today so we will be rushing around trying to get that all signed.
"Hopefully very late tonight or first thing in the morning we can bring Martins back with us.
"It's too early to say 'yes he's signed up' because officially he hasn't, but we're positive as to what's going to happen by the end of play today."
Roeder insisted that he was not worried about Portsmouth's interest in Martins.
"I never worry about speculation, I only concern myself with what we're doing. As far as I'm concerned, as long as the paperwork goes through today, he'll be our man," he said.
"Not only Portsmouth, but any other club, will have to look elsewhere, if they are looking for a striker."
The Toon chief refused to be drawn on his other targets, including Thomas Gravesen, Wayne Bridge and Robert Huth
"Until we can give you definite information on any other player coming in, there isn't too much I can say," he continued.
"With Martins there has been a lot of speculation, not only about Martins, but there have been a dozen other strikers apparently, allegedly, coming to the club over the summer.
"But Martins has always been the man I wanted, that was the one I targeted, I wanted the pace.
"For all the speculation I knew which one I was after. Again with the speculation about Wayne Bridge, Robert Huth has had quite a few mentions and Thomas (Gravesen), have been spoken about several others.
"I know the ones I want to be here by the close of play next Wednesday so watch this space for a few days. We are certainly very active behind the scenes at the moment trying to put these deals together."
