NEWCASTLE UNITED will soon discover if they have won the race to sign Gervinho after he confirmed he will sign for a Premier League club.

The 24-year-old has been subject of continuous speculation over the last few weeks after the Magpies were granted permission to speak to the midfielder by French champions Lille.

The Tynesiders are set to announce the capture of Gervinho’s Lille team-mate Yohan Cabaye by the end of the week and are still hoping the Ivory Coast international will follow him through the door at St James’ Park.

The midfielder has kept his cards close to his chest over where his future lies with interest from Spain, while Arsenal and Manchester City are also reportedly interested in securing his services.

In a further twist, French football newspaper L’Equipe reported yesterday that the sought-after player could yet stay at the Ligue One side, but that prompted Gervinho to speak out, revealing he is on his way to the English top-flight.

He said: “My mind is made up, I am leaving.

“I will soon meet the club and let them know, but they understand my feelings that I want to prove myself in a top league in Europe.

“My agents are moving things as I want, people know where my future lies, it is in England.”

Pardew is working hard to bring in his preferred targets, but the Magpies boss has an even harder job on his hands after it was reported the club has rejected a £3m bid from West Ham for captain Kevin Nolan.

It emerged last week that talks over a contract extension have broken down, with Magpies’ chiefs reluctant to offer the skipper a long-term deal.

The 28-year-old has two years left to run on his contract, but new Hammers boss Sam Allardyce is keen to be reunited with the player he managed at Bolton.

Pardew must now decide whether to offer Nolan another deal or to cash in on the midfielder now, but if that is the case the Magpies will want upwards of the £4m sum they paid Bolton for his services in 2009.

Meanwhile, Leeds United chairman Ken Bates has hinted at the possibility of Alan Smith returning to Elland Road.

It was revealed yesterday that Pardew has told the midfielder he can leave the club as he enters the final year of his contract.

Smith, who signed from Manchester United in 2007, played a key role for the Magpies in their promotion season from the Championship, but has since found his opportunities limited after the arrival of Cheik Tiote.

The 30-year-old spent seven years at the West Yorkshire club and Bates has revealed a return for Smith to his boyhood club could be an option, although any deal would depend on the player’s fitness and wage demands.

The versatile midfielder spent the majority of last season on the sidelines with an ankle injury, and with a reported weekly wage of £60,000, Smith could price himself out of a move.

Bates said: “First of all it depends on whether the manager (Simon Grayson) wants him or not, which is his decision and not mine.

“Alan Smith returning to Elland Road would be a very popular move, but we have to be careful because unfortunately over the last few seasons Alan’s had a pretty poor injury record and one thing we can’t afford to do is sign somebody who is not fit to play.

“The other thing of course is Alan Smith’s wages. He’s been at Manchester United and Newcastle, so his wages are probably in the stratosphere, well over the seven figure region, so I suspect if he did join us he would have to knock a nought off it and probably half it, which may not suit him or his agent.

“But on the other hand nothing is certain and nothing is uncertain.”