HUGO VIANA'S wish of a permanent move to Portugal could come true as Newcastle United consider a swap deal for striker Benni McCarthy.

Magpies' boss Graeme Souness is actively seeking a new forward before the start of the campaign with Craig Bellamy up for sale and Patrick Kluivert having departed the club.

Newcastle are trying to offload Viana during the close-season and a deal with Sporting Lisbon - where the midfielder was on loan last season - looks no nearer being brokered.

It is the fact that Portuguese giants Porto are looking to sell striker McCarthy that has opened up the possibility of a player exchange.

Porto are hoping to receive around £4m for the South African international and that is the same figure Newcastle are hoping to bring in from the sale of Viana.

It was expected McCarthy would join Blackburn Rovers this week, but that transfer has hit the buffers after the Ewood Park board refused to meet the asking price.

The breakdown of that switch has opened the door for Newcastle to move in and now they are believed to be in the driving seat for the forward's signature.

But a lot hinges on whether or not Porto want to acquire Viana, who was crowned European Young Player of the Year in 2002 for an outstanding campaign in his homeland.

It was his form for Sporting and the Portuguese Under-21s that alerted former Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson to his talent and he forked out £8.5m that summer.

Despite a relatively successful loan spell back in Portugal last season - when he helped Sporting progress to the final of the UEFA Cup - chairman Freddy Shepherd does not expect to receive anywhere near that sum.

But Shepherd is trying his utmost to make sure the 22-year-old does not have to return to pre-season training with Souness' side on July 4.

"Newcastle haven't been in touch for a few weeks but I know the chairman is doing everything he can. He knows how I feel and he is trying to help me. I appreciate that. I'm confident everything will be resolved within two weeks," said Viana recently.

Viana made just 28 starts for the Tyneside club before he completed the loan move to Sporting last summer - before Souness had even taken over from Robson.

But Souness feels he does not need to see the player in action and would welcome a swap deal for McCarthy, whom the Scot tried to sign during his days in charge at Blackburn.

The former Ajax striker was also the subject of interest from Middlesbrough a few years ago but no deal was concluded and he moved to Porto instead.

Following the arrival of Scott Parker from Chelsea earlier this week and ongoing negotiations with Turkish midfielder Emre, Souness is in a position to allow Viana to follow Laurent Robert out of St James' Park.

Robert ended his time on Tyneside when he was unveiled as a Portsmouth player and Newcastle are believed to have secured an unlikely clause in the transfer.

It has been claimed that the Frenchman will not be allowed to play against his former club when the two sides meet next season - despite the deal being a permanent agreement.

Newcastle appear to have demanded the clause because of the way Lomana LuaLua grabbed the winning goal against them for Portsmouth on February 29 last year.

Meanwhile, Newcastle have announced they have sold over 90 per cent of their season tickets ahead of the new campaign despite a difficult year.

As well as Robson being sacked last September, the St James' Park faithful have had to endure another trophy-less campaign, made worse by the club's disappointing league finish.

And, with a lengthy waiting list, it is expected that all of the season tickets will be taken before August.

l Valencia are still hopeful of concluding a deal to bring in Kluivert.

The Dutchman has agreed terms with the Mestalla club but failed a routine medical two weeks ago.

However, Valencia's medical chief Rafael Llombert will head to Holland to see the results of an examination of Kluivert's knee and decide whether he is in a fit state to sign for the club.

"I hope that the situation resolves itself satisfactorily. He had a small operation and now is recovering from this," said Llombert.

"At the moment the vibes are positive."

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