SAM Allardyce is close to sealing a deal that will bring former Real Madrid legend, Fernando Hierro, to the Reebok.

Having spent the weekend agreeing terms with two other central defenders - the Brazilian Julio Cesar and the young Israeli international Tal Ben Haim - the Wanderers boss is on the verge of an agreement that will bring the Spanish veteran back into mainstream European football.

Hierro, who is 37, spent last season playing in Qatar, where a host of one-time world class stars are being paid vast sums to promote Middle East football.

But Allardyce believes he can still play at the highest level.

If he accepts the offer of a 12-month Reebok contract, Hierro will be re-united with two of his former Real team-mates, Ivan Campo and Cesar - the man who was seen as his natural successor when he first went to the Bernabeu and who this weekend agreed a one-year Reebok deal after impressing on trial.

The addition of the former midfielder-turned centre-back, who was due to fly in to Manchester to tie up the loose ends of a 12-month deal, is particularly important, as Florent Laville's knee injury is likely to keep him out for at least the first two months of the new season.

Allardyce said: "I think we would do some one-on-one work with him for the first 14 days and then put him into the fray with the rest of the players.

"But he's a player who should be able to use all the experience and talent that he's got to walk into positions that other players run into."

The 25-year-old Cesar joins Wanderers on a free after reaching a settlement with Real Valladolid, where he still had a year to run on his contract.