Magpies want Gayle to fill Shearer's boots

United, without knee trouble victim Shearer for a further ten weeks, were last night battling to thrash out a deal with the Dons.

Talks have reached stalemate because they are demanding more than double the Geordies' £1.5m offer for 30-year-old Gayle.

But United boss Bobby Robson will step up his bid to push through the transfer today ahead of Wimbledon's FA Cup third-round tie against Notts County.

Robson has been searching for a striker on loan and even tried to secure Robbie Keane before the Republic of Ireland star joined Leeds from Inter Milan with a view to a permanent £12m deal.

Chairman Freddy Shepherd has been persuaded by an anxious Robson to loosen the purse strings at St James' Park.

Shepherd is wary about splashing cash while doubts remain about the future of the transfer system.

"We are in limbo, but we have kept our powder dry," he said yesterday.

Wimbledon are holding out for £3.5m, but Newcastle aim to reach a compromise in the next 24 hours because they don't want Gayle cup-tied.

He wouldn't be able to play against Aston Villa on Sunday because of the seven-day cup registration rule.

But he would be eligible for the fourth round to resume his link-up with former teammate Carl Cort.

The Dons' old boy is three weeks away from a comeback after over three months out with a hamstring problem which required surgery.

He is eager to revive his partnership with Gayle, while Shearer recovers from an operation for tendinitis. Newcastle have tried and failed to land Gayle before.

They wanted the Jamaican international two years ago, but were put off by the £5m asking price.

Now, however, relations between the clubs are good following Cort's £7m summer move and Wimbledon could see the sale of Gayle as their last chance of enjoying a big-money windfall.

Newcastle's need is even more urgent after the red card rumpus at Tottenham on Tuesday, which will rule out Kieron Dyer and Nolberto Solano for two games and one respectively.

It means the Magpies will be without Dyer, Solano, Shearer, Cort and Rob Lee at Leeds in a fortnight, increasing the desperate need for reinforcements.

Cort, who last played at Leyton Orient in the Worthington Cup on September 26, is itching to return to action.

He said: "It has been incredibly frustrating. I came from Wimbledon for a big fee and I wanted to prove to everyone what I could do.

"But I have been prevented from doing that and I can't wait for the day when I pull on the black and white stripes again."

Meanwhile, Shepherd has flown to Paris in a bid to confront stay-away French star Didier Domi.

Newcastle fear the £4m left-back may never return after going AWOL before Christmas.

Even the player's agent, Ranko Stojic, admits he is in the dark. "Newcastle know more about the situation than I do," he insisted.

Domi is hoping to engineer a return to former club Paris St Germain and new coach Luis Fernandez is known to be interested.

Newcastle insist Domi won't be paid while he stays away, but now Shepherd has acted to try to break the impasse.

l Kieron Dyer will return to work today ready to pay the price for his latest misdemeanour.

Dyer, who celebrated his 22nd birthday four days after Christmas, blotted his copybook just days later when he was sent off for the first time in his career for swearing at a linesman during the stormy 4-2 defeat at Tottenham.

The former Ipswich star apologised to manager Bobby Robson and the rest of the team, as well as to the club's supporters, and is expecting to hear what his punishment will be under the club's disciplinary procedure today.

It is not the first time he has found himself in hot water since his £6m move to St James' Park in July 1999, but suggestions that Robson is ready to offload him as a result are wildly inaccurate.

Dyer saw his x-rated summer holiday exploits splashed all over the tabloids and was allegedly involved in an incident in an Ipswich nightclub in the run-up to the current season.

Dyer said: ''If I keep repeating bad things, obviously I'm a liability.

"That is when they have to take things into consideration. But I can promise everyone it is behind me.