Bobby Robson has swooped to sign South American striker Carlos Daniel Cordone in a move that could eventually cost Newcastle £2.5m, writes JACK LESLIE.

Cordone, 26, is currently banned by the Argentinian FA for throwing his shirt at rival fans after scoring for Racing Club against Velez Sarsfeld last week.

But his suspect temperament hasn't put off Geordies boss Robson, who forked out £500,000 on a 12-month loan deal that will cost a further £2m if it becomes permanent.

Cordone was lined up even before Newcastle lost out to Rangers over Danish striker Peter Lovenkrands last week.

His arrival will stiffen the Geordies' frontline while a question mark remains over the long term fitness of Scottish striker Duncan Ferguson. The marksman will join fellow Argeninian Christian Bassedas on the plane to Tyneside next month.

Meanwhile, Alessandro Pistone has shelved a decision on whether to join Everton until after his honeymoon.

The Italian was surprised to learn of Newcastle's decision to accept a £3m bid from the Goodison club - but he refuses to be hustled out of St James' Park until he weighs up the move.

Robson is not particularly keen to offload Pistone but he desperately wants to generate transfer funds for a major summer splash and is prepared to take a loss on the player signed by Kenny Dalglish for £4.5m three years ago.

Pistone's imminent departure means Didier Domi is likely to stay at St James' despite interest from three French clubs.

l Defender Steve Howey has hit back at the belief that Kevin Keegan's teams can't defend.

Claims that Keegan casually squandered leads while he was in charge at Newcastle simply aren't true, according to Howey.

"People say we used to throw away leads and concede goals, but you can look back and see it didn't happen very often," said the former England man after joining the debate.

The country wants Keegan to tighten up following the 3-2 defeat by Portugal and ahead of tomorrow's showdown with Germany in Euro 2000 - but Howey doesn't expect his former boss to change his soccer style overnight.

"Everyone knows Kevin plays attacking football," he said. "His philosophy was to let the opposition worry about us, not the other way round.

"It means people automatically think he doesn't care about defending. It's not true. It's just that he thinks attack is the best form of defence.

"At Newcastle, he knew we were good enough to beat anybody. He would tell us that, if we went out and enjoyed ourselves, we would beat teams - nine times out of ten he was right. The fact is that Kevin Keegan wants to win in style and I don't think that's wrong."

Talk of Keegan's devil-may-care tactics simply doesn't hold water when his Newcastle reign is analysed.

On only three occasions during his four-year stay on Tyneside did Keegan actually pay for being cavalier.

And when Newcastle went so close to claiming the title in 1996 they actually leaked only two more Premiership goals than champions Manchester United.

l George Graham last night insisted he would be delighted if former Newcastle favourite David Ginola stays at Tottenham and told the Frenchman any move would be his own decision.

It seemed that Ginola's career at White Hart Lane was over after the club confirmed they had accepted a £3m offer from Aston Villa.

But Spurs manager Graham said the 33-year-old, a hero among the White Hart Lane fans, could still figure prominently in his plans.

''I was aware that the two chairmen (Alan Sugar and Doug Ellis) had spoken but that's as far as it had gone as far as I was concerned,'' Graham said. "I would be sorry to see David go and, if he does, it will be his decision. He played a huge part in helping us win the Worthington Cup last season.''