Friday, 5th August, 2011
Newcastle United are stepping up their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta despite appearing to soften their stance on Joey Barton.
Barton was recently informed he could leave St. James’ Park on a free transfer, one year before his deal with the club is due to expire, after the tough-tackling midfielder was involved in a war of words with the club via the social networking site Twitter.
Newcastle’s stance appeared to soften however when boss Alan Pardew indicated that the door has not been closed on Barton.
"I’ve never closed the door on anyone and I’m not closing the door on Joey", said Pardew, who then indicated that Barton, who had been forced to train alone yesterday, may yet train again with the first team.
"He trained with the development team today and, who knows, he may train with the first team soon."
But, despite these words, Newcastle are pushing ahead with their move for Switzerland international Barnetta, a player who could replace Barton.
The 26-year-old will not feature for Leverkusen at the weekend due to picking up an injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for between three and six weeks. Nevertheless, talks with Newcastle could progress quickly during this time.
And Newcastle will need the extra time to formulate a deal that is to Barnetta and his agent’s liking after it was confirmed the North East side had offered the player less than he currently earns at the BayArena.
Barnetta has played as a winger for the Bundesliga outfit, but is also capable of slotting into a role as a defensive midfielder.
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