Newcastle Agree £6m Smith Fee

Newcastle are closing in on two new signings after agreeing a £6m fee with Manchester United for Alan Smith and inviting the former Lyon captain Caçapa, to undergo a medical at St James' Park.

The Magpies are not the only club bidding for Smith - Sunderland, Everton and Middlesbrough are among the other sides to have registered their interest - but appear to have stolen a march in the bidding. Brazilian defender Caçapa, meanwhile, has reportedly been on Tyneside since Sunday negotiating personal terms on a move.

"I am hoping that the Alan Smith deal will go through today," said the Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce. "He has other clubs to consider and I am hoping we are top of his list.

"[Caçapa] is a top player and we will be delighted if we can pull this off as we regard him as a big capture. Our fans should not be put off by the fact they may not have heard of Caçapa because he has certainly been heard of in Brazil and France.

"He has been captain of Lyon for the past five years and for every one of those five years they won the French title, so obviously he has a lot of Champions League experience. Unfortunately, he has been back in Brazil and he has had no pre-season work, and in normal circumstances we would not consider him for our opening game at Bolton a week on Saturday, but it all depends on what type of injuries we have."