Newcastle United director of football Joe Kinnear has assured fans that new signings will come in before the start of the season.

The Magpies have been looking to strengthen their squad and are reportedly close to confirming the signing of Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis.

"I'm being sensible about the budget I've got and I'm going to spend it as wisely as I can while keeping Alan well informed," Kinnear told reporters. "I have regular meetings with Alan and we sit down to talk about the best type of players for Newcastle and the fans.

"At the moment I'm waiting for the nod - but the goalposts have moved on numerous occasions - to bring in a couple of strikers. The Gomis deal was agreed on numerous occasions but it's a very difficult situation because there's always extra add-ons, extra things, another problem.

"We're fighting hard. There's two or three of us who all seem to be wrapped around the same players and as I said to Mike [Ashley] this is a serious battle that we need to win. We're very close to achieving that."

Newcastle have also been linked with moves for Queens Park Rangers' Loic Remy and Aston Villa's Darren Bent.