NEWCASTLE finally captured one of their leading summer targets last night when Deportivo La Coruna agreed to accept an offer of around £10m for striker Albert Luque.

But, while chairman Freddy Shepherd spent yesterday frantically trying to tie up a deal for Michael Owen, the England international is prepared to play a waiting game in the hope of securing a dream return to Liverpool instead.

Luque, who has been offered a five-year deal, will arrive on Tyneside this morning for a medical after Newcastle's persistence finally paid off.

Deportivo officials confirmed they had accepted the Magpies' final offer at around 10pm last night, and the attacker could even make his United debut in Sunday's Premiership clash with Manchester United.

"I'm happy that a deal has been done," said the 26-year-old Spanish international. "The Premiership is an excellent league.

"It is up to the coach, but I am prepared to play on Sunday against Manchester United. To be in the team next to (Alan) Shearer would be a huge personal satisfaction to me."

Despite his understandable relief at finally making a transfer breakthrough, Shepherd had also hoped to have made progress with Owen's potential move to Tyneside. The Newcastle chief issued the Real Madrid striker with an ultimatum yesterday, giving him until this morning to decide where he wants to play his football this season.

But, with Owen continuing to keep his cards close to his chest, Shepherd's attempts to back the England international into a corner have failed.

Instead, the 25-year-old is prepared to wait until next Wednesday - the final day before the transfer window swings shut for four months - before informing Newcastle of his intentions.

It could take that long to sort his future out as Liverpool officials, who are currently preparing for tonight's European Super Cup game with CSKA Moscow, remain reluctant to declare their hand.

The European champions have hidden behind a wall of silence this week, with boss Rafael Benitez again refusing to discuss Owen's position at his weekly press conference yesterday.

Sources on Merseyside suggest the Reds' board remains divided over whether to offer the striker an emotional return to Anfield.

And, after splashing out more than £18m in transfer fees this summer, Liverpool are adamant they will not pay more than the £8m they received from Real Madrid when Owen moved to Spain.

That will not be enough to re-sign the striker on a permanent basis, given that Newcastle had a club record bid of around £16m accepted on Wednesday morning.

With a permanent move all but ruled out, Liverpool will propose a season-long loan deal if they opt to make a move for their former frontman.

That could open the door for Newcastle as the Real Madrid board, wary of the criticism they received after their own striker, Fernando Morientes, helped to knock them out of 2003-04's Champions League, are reluctant to loan a striker to one of their leading European rivals.

If a permanent move is the only option Real will consider, Owen is effectively left with a straight choice between St James' Park and the substitutes bench at the Bernabeu.

But, if Real can be persuaded to countenance a loan deal - and even Shepherd seems to believe they can - Liverpool could still hold the key to what happens next.

"Real Madrid will not allow Owen to go out on loan," said an increasingly frustrated Shepherd. "But that is something between them and the player. I am sure that a compromise can be reached.

"We have made our bid and there is not much more we can do. We are still waiting to hear from Owen and his adviser. It has got to happen (yesterday) or it is not going to happen at all."

Newcastle officials held further talks with Owen's representatives yesterday, but were unable to reach a resolution.

The club's attempts to instil some urgency into the proceedings might be understandable, but they are unlikely to be effective.

They have pushed their interest as far as they can, but the final decision is down to one man. With Champions League football at Anfield remaining his preferred option, Owen is in no immediate rush to decide his fate.

That leaves Newcastle in a particularly injudicious position, as their ability to formulate a 'Plan B' is being severely hampered by Owen's intransigence.

Even Souness has admitted that Luque is not the "20 goals-a-season man" he is looking for and, with the club's pursuit of Nicolas Anelka at an end, the Magpies appear to be dangerously short of fallback options.

Despite United's inability to find the net in any of their opening three league games - the first time that has happened in the club's 113-year history - there is still the distinct possibility of Souness failing to add a proven goalscorer to his ranks before the end of the month.

By that stage, he could also be without Jermaine Jenas. Newcastle officials met Daniel Levy in Lancashire on Wednesday night and rejected the Tottenham chairman's latest offer for the England international.

Levy, en route to his side's game at Blackburn, is understood to have offered £7m up front, with a further £1m being dependent on appearances and Spurs' performance this season.

That bid was rebuffed by the Magpies, but sources in London suggest Levy is preparing to table a final take-it-or-leave-it offer of £10m this weekend.

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