STAR striker Joel Griffiths is poised to become a Newcastle Jet for life.
Griffiths's management company will meet with the Jets on Wednesday, when they hope to finalise a four-year deal believed to be worth $1 million which will most likely make him the club's marquee player from next season.
"We are pretty close," Griffiths told The Herald. "I had a meeting with them last week. I have not agreed to anything yet.
"They told me their figures, and I told them what my figures were.
"It is in the ballpark. We just have to get the specifics right and get a few things in there I believe are important.
"There is another meeting on Wednesday and there is a possibility I could sign then."
Griffiths's signature would be a major boost for the A-League champions, who received plenty of flak for not retaining home-grown midfielder Stuart Musialik and grand final heroes Andrew Durante and Mark Bridge at the end of last season.
Griffiths, last season's A-League player of the year and golden boot winner, has scored three goals in five games this season, including the winner against Queensland on Friday night.
Griffiths is on the seemingly cut-price figure of $165,00 a season but would become the Jets' highest-paid player if the deal is made.
The 29-year-old front man rejected the club's first offer, but with new clubs Gold Coast and North Queensland to enter the player market on October 1, the Jets have upped the ante.
"I am 29, and my next contract will probably see my career out," Griffiths said.
"If I can do that here, it would be great. It is a club I have a lot of passion for and I love playing for."
Griffiths is in his second stint in the Hunter.
He played two seasons with Newcastle United in the old national league, scoring 25 goals in 46 appearances.
He signed with Swiss club Neuchatel Xamax in 2003 and went on to make 72 appearances in three years before an ill-fated move to Leeds United.
He returned to Newcastle for the Jets' second year in the A-League.
The Jets are also keen to retain Joel's twin, Adam, who is also off contract.
He returned from England last year to reunite with his brother and was one of the driving forces behind the Jets' title win.
"Adam is his own man," Joel said.
"If he stays in the A-League, I think he will stay in Newcastle."
To help supplement Joel's wages, the Jets allowed him to play a loan stint at Japanese second-division club Avispa Fukuoka in the A-League off-season.
Any new deal is likely to include similar concessions.
"They are the specifics I am talking to them about," Griffiths said.
Griffiths followed Ian Crook and current coach Gary van Egmond from Sydney to join Newcastle United in 2001.
Van Egmond was assistant coach at the time and has since played a key role in Griffiths's development.
Named coach of the year after leading the Jets to the championship, van Egmond has a year to run on his contract.
"Hopefully Dutchy stays [beyond next season]," Griffiths said.
"That is one of the reasons I want to stay. We are on the same page.
"We think very similar."
Griffiths signed recently with a new management group, Entourage, which is aiming to use his profile in areas outside football.
If he signs and sees out a four-year deal, at its completion he will have spent nine years in the Hunter.
"My wife, Bianca, and I are settled here," he said.
"I am trying to set myself up and hopefully increase my profile.
"There are the things the management group has come to me with. One of those is doing some work to help the homeless in Newcastle. The chance to give something back to the community really got me."