MIKE Newell was set to sign for Birmingham City this afternoon for £775,000, with a Press conference called at St Andrews to announce the deal.

The Blackburn Rovers striker travelled to the Midlands this morning to take the usual medical tests.

And Birmingham boss Trevor Francis was confident he had landed another important signing in his bid to stage a strong promotion challenge next season.

Francis said: "I am very pleased I have finally got my man.

"He is a winner and he knows all about winning. I have spoken to Alan Shearer about him and he regards him very highly.

"People should not read into his age. For a 31-year-old there will not be a fitter player at this club.

"The fee agreed is £775,000. I know people have been reading that we would be paying more but that has never been the case."

Francis, who has had to set up two outgoing deals to finance the Newell signing, aims to pair him with Paul Furlong in attack. "They will make an excellent partnership. They have good strength are both aggressive and know how to look after themselves," he added.

The deal was first mooted several weeks ago but seemed to have foundered more than once as Newell may have been reluctant to leave the Premier League.

He also holds another special part in Ewood history, as it was his penalty at Wembley in 1992 which made the club founder members of the Premier League.

Rovers' two sides made a successful start in the Northern Ireland Milk Cup yesterday.

They are competing at under-14 and under-16 levels in the prestigious international youth tournament.

Craig Woodfield (2) and Paddy Connolly, two of the new apprentices at Ewood, were on target as the under-16s defeated County Londonderry 3-1. The under-14s romped to an 8-0 victory over the British School of Sport (London).

Steve Foster got a hat-trick, Peter McCann scored two and there was one goal apiece for Lee Hardy, Pat Lynch and Steve Alty.

Today, the under-14s were due to face the Belfast Boys League representative side, with the under-16s taking on Charlton Athletic this evening.

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