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FREDDY SHEPHERD will offer Martin O'Neill a £30MILLION transfer kitty to lure him to St James' Park.

We can reveal the Toon chairman will make an approach to the former Celtic boss within the next few days as a replacement for Graeme Souness, who was sacked on Thursday.

Shepherd's No1 choice, England boss Sven Goran Eriksson, is unlikely to decide on his future until after the World Cup.

But with Newcastle now facing a battle for Premiership survival, Shepherd will try to persuade O'Neill, who quit Celtic to look after his sick wife, out of retirement.

A Newcastle source said: "Martin will be approached this week about whether he'll move to Newcastle. The club hope he will accept the offer but everything is still up in the air.

"However, Freddy will make it clear funds will be made available to bring in the players he wants."