Bellamy, who has spent the last six months on loan at Celtic, has even declared himself ready to train with the club’s juniors if so instructed, and there is a chance that will be his fate.

Chairman Freddy Shepherd insists the decision over whether the £6m striker can ever play for the club again rests with the manager.

Souness promised in the wake of his relationship breakdown with the Welshman that Bellamy would never play for him again.

Privately his stance has not shifted, ahead of Bellamy’s imminent return.

It could add up to an interesting Monday morning at the club’s Benton training ground, with Portuguese international Hugo Viana also due back from Sporting Lisbon if no agreement on a permanent deal is reached.

Porto and Benfica have dropped out of the race to sign Viana.

With less than three weeks before Newcastle embark on their Intertoto Cup campaign, against either Turkish outfit Ankaraspor or Slovakian side Dubnica, Newcastle look to have only skipper Alan Shearer and 21-year-old Michael Chopra to lead their line.

Patrick Kluivert’s disappointing spell on Tyneside came to an end with his move to Valencia, while Shola Ameobi will miss the opening weeks of the season as he recovers from surgery on a troublesome hip injury.

In different circumstances, Bellamy’s availability would be a boon, but Souness is sticking to his guns and remains determined to offload the former Coventry and Norwich forward.

Celtic stepped up their bid to sign him over the weekend and Aston Villa maintain an interest.

Speculation that England midfielder Jermaine Jenas could be used to lure Tottenham’s Robbie Keane to Tyneside has been played down, and any cash approach for the 22-year-old – Spurs have been linked with a £6million move for the player – would almost certainly be rebuffed.

Souness is hoping to field the former Nottingham Forest starlet, as well as £6.5m signing Scott Parker and Inter Milan’s Emre Belozoglu in the same midfield.

Emre has met with Souness, but the two clubs are yet to reach agreement on a fee, and the issue of the player’s wage demands remain unresolved.

“We still hope to do a deal with Emre – we want him and the boy wants to join us,” said Souness.

“But we have not come to an agreement with him yet.

“He is one player on my list. He can play wide left, through the middle or off the front. He is a good player who can play in a number of positions.”

The Magpies came a step closer to learning the identity of their first Intertoto opponents when Dubnica beat Vasas to secure their passage to the second round.

After a scoreless first leg, goals from Peter Kiska and Lukas Tesak set up a trip to Ankaraspor next weekend, with the second leg taking place a week later.

The winners will host Newcastle on the weekend of July 16 and 17, with the return leg taking place on Saturday, July 23.

Victory for the Magpies would put them into the semi-finals and in with a chance of a place in one of the three finals and qualification for the UEFA Cup.