MIKE Newell's hopes of keeping Graeme Lee at Hartlepool United for next season's Division Two programme appear to be all but over.

Newell said earlier this week he had not given up on Lee, but Pool's longest serving player is out of contract this summer and ready to end his eight-year, 252-game association with Victoria Park.

Former boss Chris Turner has registered his interest in taking Lee to Sheffield Wednesday - and the 24-year-old is believed to have already travelled to Hillsborough yesterday to undergo a preliminary medical.

Lee's contract expires on June 30 and the likelihood of a Bosman move to Hillsborough is ever increasing.

Newell has drawn up a shortlist of potential replacements and Sunderland's towering Irish under-21 defender Clifford Byrne is among those being considered.

Lee's defensive partnership with Chris Westwood was the rock on which Pool's success of last season was built - the pair were second and first respectively in The Northern Echo's player of the year award - and Newell knows he needs a similar dominating character to complement Westwood.

"There are plenty of players about and we are looking through the lists of names available,'' said Newell. "It's in our minds what we want. We could just go out and get anybody in, but we only want to bring quality players to the club.''

Defender Jon Bass this week signed a new, one year deal to stay at Victoria Park. "It's been frustrating for me, but since the manager came in, I've been given a new lease of life,'' he said.

Pool will entertain Newcastle at Victoria Park on Friday, August 1 (7.15pm) and Newell is relishing the chance of stamping his mark on the club during the summer months. "It will be good to work with the squad from scratch," said Newell. "And any new faces we add to the squad, it gives us the chance to impress them with our ways and methods."

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