By Chris O'Brien
November 18 2004

Newcastle United boss Graeme Souness is believed to be tabling a bid for out-of-favour United defender John O'Shea. A £4million bid is rumoured to be on the cards for the Irishman, with the North East club desperate to strengthen their defence during the January sales.

Manchester United defender John O'Shea has been linked with a move to Premiership rivals Newcastle when the transfer window opens. Struggling to get first-team football at Old Trafford, the Irishman may fancy a move to St.James' Park where he could be handed the responsibility of filling the boots of Jonathan Woodgate, who left the North East for Real Madrid earlier in the year.

Graeme Souness recently took the helm with Newcastle, where he hopes to end a major silverware drought dating back to 1969. Anglo-Italian Cups and Texaco Cup wins since that Uefa Cup triumph in the late 60's will have hardly have appeased fans, and those minor trophy wins were way back in the 70's the new Magpies boss is in the market for a defender, and sources suggest he has been keeping close tabs on O'Shea whom he could make a £4million bid for in the New Year.

O'Shea will struggle to get much first-team football over the next season or two. Rio Ferdinand, Wesley Brown and Mikael Silvestre are all currently preferred as centre-halves, with left back Gabriel Heinze a versatile defender who could play at the heart of the backline. The form of the 23-year-old dipped last season and he could see a move to Northumberland as the ideal opportunity to inject new life into his career.

Newcastle sit in a disappointing 10th and have already leaked 26 Premiership goals this term. The club are said to see strengthening the defence as a priority during the transfer window, and have been linked with Glasgow Ranger's Jean-Alain Boumsong, Cardiff's Daniel Gabbidon and Birmingham's Matthew Upson in the lead up to the 'January sales'.