BEATTIE ON THE BRINK?

The 21-year-old Marseille forward could be on his way to St Mary's - but a move is only likely if Beattie is sold to Newcastle.

Mido, who cost Marseille over £5m last summer, is in pole position at last to link up with Saints after first interesting them three years ago.

The Daily Echo have spoken to Mido's agent Christophe Henrotay, who refused to dampen the speculation.

"I might have more news tomorrow," said the Belgian-based agent, who at the weekend claimed Newcastle were also interested in his client.

That was a clear indication that Beattie's possible departure to the north east - as rumoured all summer - could still be imminent.

Newcastle yesterday sold one striker, Lomano Lua Lua, to Pompey while another, Craig Bellamy, could miss the start of the season with a knee injury.

Though Patrick Kluivert has been linked to the Toon, Beattie, 26, could be viewed as a better long-term bet by Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd - the Saints ace would certainly be cheaper than Kluivert in terms of a weekly wage.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd is remaining coy on any transfer activity but he did say: "Our strategy is clear - we are only interested in signing quality players.

"And there are still six weeks before the start of the season for us to carry out our transfer business."

Mido, also being courted by Besiktas, has told African press he would be interested in a move to Saints rather than to a 'bigger' club, where he might not be guaranteed first team football.

The 6ft 3in forward was speaking after his first year in the French League, where the form of Didier Drogba and injuries restricted him to just 19 league appearances.

Were Beattie to be sold to Newcastle, Mido could finally move to Saints - three years after Ghent claimed they were favourites to sign him.

The likelihood is that Mido would join Saints initially on loan with a view to a permanent move.

Though the club have previously been reluctant to take players on loan, they were chasing Senegalese World Cup star Khalilou Fadiga earlier this year in exactly that sort of arrangement.

An African website was claiming Mido would be arriving in England on Friday with his agent to meet Paul Sturrock - but the Saints boss is currently with his squad pre-season training in Austria.

It also said Saints would pay Marseille £2m for one year's loan.

Saints' European scout Terry Cooper has watched Mido play for Ghent, Ajax - whom he joined in 2001 for £3m - and Marseille.

"I've seen him around ten times," said Cooper. "He's a good footballer - he's left-footed, he's got a good touch and he's good upstairs."

Saints' own website has refused to confirm or deny the initial speculation linking Mido with them - a clear indication, if previous signings such as Mikael Nilsson and Peter Crouch are anything to go by, that a deal is likely.

A Saints source said yesterday they thought Mido's wage demands might be beyond them.

But that could all change if Beattie - one of the highest earners at St Mary's - is sold and Saints bank a £6m-plus fee for their top scorer for the last two seasons.

There is no way Saints would be interested in signing Mido - and surely the club website would have denied the link completely if it was a non-starter - unless the club were laying the foundations for the day Beattie is sold.

Boss Paul Sturrock last week admitted he wanted just five frontline strikers - hence the reasoning behind bringing in Peter Crouch from Aston Villa following the departure of Agustin Delgado.

Liverpool have also been linked with Mido, who is due to become a father for the first time this week, but an Anfield source said it was "most unlikely" new boss Rafael Benetiz would be interested.

The Reds already have Michael Owen, £14m summer signing Djibril Cisse, Czech Euro 2004 sensation Milan Baros and young Frenchman Florent Sinama Pongolle vying for striking positions.

And if Mido is keen to play regular first-team football, he has more chance at a Beattie-less St Mary's than he has at Liverpool.