ROBERT SET TO SIGN FOR MAGPIES By PA Sport Staff

Newcastle are set to complete the signing of French international winger Laurent Robert - and Bobby Robson is delighted with the capture.

Paris St Germain have reportedly accepted a fee of £9.5million for the player, while Robson is said to have agreed personal terms with the player on Tyneside.

And the 68-year-old Magpies boss told the News of the World how excited he is about the signing.

Robson said: "He is the sort of player who will not only give us the balance we have been looking for down the left but also added penetration.

"He is a superb natural winger and a superb natural goalscorer who is happy to cut in and fly.

"The fans would find him very exciting because he loves to go one on one against defenders.

"He reminds me a lot of Ryan Giggs, while his crossing is similar to that of John Barnes when he played on the left for England. He would give added depth to the squad."

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2001

Answers

"The fans WOULD find him very exciting...." implies this is not yet a done deal.

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2001

Until I see him on the pitch in a b and w shirt I won't believe it.

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2001

Any buzz on the radio over there, I am in Australia and feed my thirst for knowledge from the nufc.com news feed it is getting pretty bloody boring waiting for results of our depleted transfer status

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2001

Nowt as yet Bruce - check back here for news; we're often ahead of ".com". The discussions make it more lively on here also.

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2001

MidasSoccer are reporting that Robert will be unveiled at a Press Conference at SJP on Wednesday morning - transfer fee $13.5million (£9.5 million).

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2001

I wonder whether this will be viewed as a material event for the purposes of an announcement to the Stock Exchange??

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2001

Sounds like the long awaited Ginola replacement. If it goes through it's our 2nd highest fee and we need more luck than we have had with our other signings in excess of £6m. Their injury record has been appalling with only Tino playing a reasonable amount of games. Terrible luck really, although there are those who argue (with some justification) that Big Dunc was our fault.

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2001

".com" are reporting that the deal is effectively done. They say Robert is due in Toon tomorrow for a medical, and all being well will sign soon thereafter.

They advise he is eligible to play for us in both the Twobob and the UEFA Cup proper, although I assume he can't play in the 2nd leg of the 1860 tie - even if we wanted him to. However, I suppose it's possible he could be introduced to the crowd before the game on Wednesday.

Start rubbing those rosary beads gang - this signing is really important to us.

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2001