Newcastle United are ready to open talks with Portsmouth over a £3 million deal for goalkeeper David James.

The People says Newcastle's executive director Dennis Wise will open talks with Portsmouth if James indicates he is willing to head for Tyneside.

Along with Wise, Toon manager Joe Kinnear identified James as the Premier League keeper they'd most want to replace Given, who is set to join the Abu Dhabi revolution at Eastlands this week in a £10 million move.

Newcastle face a tough job to persuade James to leave the south coast.

But they would hope to convince him that the next two years with Newcastle - playing in front of 55,000 passionate fans - is the perfect way to end his career.