NEWCASTLE officials will attempt to sign Charlie Austin once the QPR striker returns from international duty after Steve McClaren admitted he was determined to recruit a “traditional number nine” this summer.

McClaren has already sounded out the possibility of signing Holland international Bas Dost as he looks to hit the ground running following his appointment as the Magpies’ new head coach, while a renewed attempt to re-sign Andy Carroll has not been ruled out as West Ham United look to offload the injury-plagued striker.

However, Austin is Newcastle’s preferred option by some distance, and there is a determination to mount a concerted effort to sign the 25-year-old within the next seven days.

Austin is currently part of the England squad that is preparing for Sunday’s European Championships qualifier in Slovenia, but Newcastle’s recruitment team, which is comprised of managing director Lee Charnley and chief scout Graham Carr as well as McClaren, are set to speak to the striker and his representatives when he returns to his London base.

QPR officials are resigned to Austin’s departure following the club’s relegation to the Championship, but the London club’s owner, Tony Fernandes, continues to insist he will not allow the former Swindon and Burnley forward to leave for a cut-price fee.

Fernandes has previously quoted a £20m asking price for Austin, who scored 18 Premier League goals last season despite QPR’s struggles, and while that figure will almost certainly have to be reassessed at some stage, Newcastle will still have to shell out the biggest transfer fee of the Mike Ashley era if they are land their number one target.

Ashley has pledged to make a ‘significant investment’ this summer, and the purchase of a proven centre-forward is regarded as the key decision facing Charnley and McClaren in the next few weeks.

Dutch media sources yesterday claimed the former England and Middlesbrough boss had spoken to Dost, a long-term Newcastle target who scored 20 goals for Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg last season.

McClaren had left Wolfsburg by the time Dost arrived from Heerenveen in 2012, but Newcastle would face fierce competition if they opted to make a formal move for one of the most in-demand forwards in Europe.

The interest in the likes of Austin and Dost nevertheless provides an early indication of the type of player Newcastle will attempt to target this summer, and tallies with McClaren’s desire to introduce a more positive brand of football following last season’s struggles.

“One thing I want to see is exciting players – a bit of pace, a bit of speed and individualism,” said McClaren, whose refusal to speak with independent members of the press when he was unveiled on Wednesday has been heavily criticised by a vast majority of Newcastle fans. “This crowd has always had a number-nine style player, and it would be great to get one of them in.

“My team should always have attitude, always have fight, always play football and always play with a certain style and flair because I think that’s what Newcastle demands. They should always play attacking football. But, ultimately, it’s about the result.”

McClaren is also pondering a move for Hull City winger Tom Ince, who he had on loan at Derby County last season.

Ince, who has a year of his current Hull contract to run, scored 11 goals in 18 games for Derby last term, and new Rams boss Paul Clement is keen to sign him permanently this summer.

However, McClaren regards the 23-year-old as an untapped talent, and will push to take him to Newcastle following the exit of Jonas Gutierrez, who finished last season playing on the left flank.

Gutierrez and Ryan Taylor were both released following the final-day victory over West Ham, but while Newcastle suffered a calamitous loss of form in the second half of the season, McClaren insists he will not be rushing to make a snap judgement on the squad he has inherited.

“I want to settle in, get the right people around me, and talk about the players, targets and present squad,” he said. “Some of the people already here will have a better opinion of it than I do.

“Everyone’s got a clean slate. I’ve got no preconceptions of anyone – they are all damned good players. As a staff, we’ll try to get them producing and get everyone on the same page.

“At the moment, there seems to be a lot of pages flying about. We need to work out what we’re trying to do and get everyone going in the right direction to do it.”

Having brought through a host of talented young players during his time with Middlesbrough, McClaren has also pledged to fast-track any of Newcastle’s academy players who show signs of being ready for the first team.

“If the players are good, they’ll be training with the first team straight away,” he said. “We used to have a term – fast-tracking. If a 16-year-old is good enough to train with the first team, they will – if they’re not, they won’t be.

“If you’ve got the talent there, great. We were fortunate at Middlesbrough because we had that talent, and it was the same in Holland (at Twente). We had a very young team and a good academy, and we had to put them in.”