Sam Allardyce admitted today he is close to a "breakthrough" in the transfer market as he looks to land his first new face at St James' Park.
 The amount of cash Allardyce has available for transfers at the moment is unclear due to the uncertainty caused by last week's takeover bid by billionaire Mike Ashley and the impact this will have on the current board. Therefore, it is more likely that the two out-of-contract players on United's radar may be the first new signings on board, with defender Ben Haim and striker Mark Viduka the most realistic targets for now. And while the talk from the US was that a potential Premiership loan move for LA-bound David Beckham will fail to materialise, there were still some optimistic noises today that the recalled England star could yet appear in a black-and-white shirt. Allardyce has enjoyed a short break in the south of France since his appointment. But his phone has been switched on during his vacation which coincided with last Wednesday's sensational devel-opments when sports tycoon Ashley launched a takeover bid by snapping up Sir John Hall's stake in United. Allardyce told the Chronicle today: "We've already had lots of meetings and talked about future plans for new players here. "Those talks are continuing, and we are close to making a breakthrough in the not-too-distant future. "Everybody here is working together to take the club forward." Israeli international Ben Haim is thought to be more than keen to link up with Allardyce again and, because his contract with Bolton has expired, he is a free agent who is unlikely to return to the Reebok Stadium next term. Although The 25-year-old has also been linked with a move to Chelsea, he knows he would be guaranteed a major role in Allardyce's plans, probably playing alongside Steven Taylor Ironically for Ben Haim, Big Sam was desperate to get him to sign a new deal during his days at Bolton, but the fact that the defender resisted could now turn out in his favour. Viduka, on the other hand, has several options, but was interested in moving to St James' Park last summer before his contract ran out at Middlesbrough and he is still very much a target. Ashley has been invited to sit meet the board next week at St James' to discuss exactly how the club will move forward. Shepherd is still hospitalised with pneumonia but is keeping tabs on the whole situation, with weekend reports that Ashley will install a new chairman, should he gain control of the club, unconfirmed. Allardyce said: "Freddy Shepherd is the man who brought me to Newcastle United as manager and I hope that everyone involved with the club can work well together." Shepherd has been keeping in touch with everything despite being in hospital and being told to take it easy. Meanwhile, hopes that Beckham may arrive at Gallowgate for a three- month winter loan stint from LA Galaxy were still alive within St James' Park today. Beckham will head for the US to play Major League Soccer in August and will star for Galaxy until November. And despite an insistence from his new coach Frank Yallop there would be no loan deal for Becks, a Toon insider said: "David has a lot of time for Big Sam and the manager would love to work with him. "He feels he would be a welcome addition to the dressing room in terms of experience and a big influence on the pitch. "You only have to look at the impact of Henrik Larsson at Manchester United last season to see what a short-term loan deal can do when it comes to giving your squad a boost." With Beckham also desperate to play at next summer's European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, the ex-Man United star may also make a formal request to Galaxy to return to the Premiership to keep him in the mind of Steve McClaren ahead of the tournament. And, given his superstar status, there must be a strong chance that such a plea would eventually have to be accepted. | 
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