Pardew Not Bothered by Transfer Rumours

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew says he is not bothered by speculation that his players are constantly being linked with summer moves away from the Sports Direct Arena (St James' Park), according to an ESPN report.

There are only nine games left in the Premier League this season and the Magpies, in their first season up since winning promotion, are incredibly still in contention for European football.

However, the club's oft beleaguered owner, Mike Ashley, has not exactly backed his manager. Ashley has said he will not be afraid to sell a player if he feels the offer is right.

The club's key players - Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Cheik Tiote and Tim Krul - are all reportedly transfer targets for several European clubs, although they are all on long-term contracts with Newcastle.

"Speculation is part of the game and I have no problem with that - but all of our best players are on long-term contracts here," ESPN quoted Pardew as saying.

"Anyone who looks at this football club will know we are difficult sellers. Someone is going to have to pay a lot of money to take one of our players away - especially considering where we are right now and are having success," he added.

Pardew has had great success in the transfer markets, this season, for Newcastle. The acquisition of players like Ba, Cabaye, Gabriel Obertan, Davide Santon, Sylvain Marveaux and Papiss Cisse, for relatively small transfer fees is possibly the reason why the club reported improved financial positions earlier in the year.

Newcastle are sixth in the league, with 47 points from 29 games. They next play West Brom, away, on 25 March.