Newcastle United hope for a breakthrough this week over new contract talks with Steven Taylor.
The Sunday Sun says Taylor's camp have been impressed with what Alan Pardew has had to say - with the new Toon boss admitting it would be a crying shame if they lost an "England calibre" defender.
Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Wolves and Stoke are all monitoring his situation, but through all of the controversy Taylor still retains hope of staying at St James' Park.
The conflict appears to lie between his agent - the influential Paul Stretford - and the club's power brokers, who say they are keen for Taylor to accept a new financial reality at St James' Park and pen a long-term deal.
Pardew's determination to keep Taylor is likely to make a big difference to the discussions.
