French Maestro Aware of United Rumours

Newcastle United midfielder Yohan Cabaye says he has followed rumours linking him with a move to Manchester United this summer.

The French international, who stared in a Toon midfield which finished fifth in the Premier League and qualified for the Europa League, has reportedly caught the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson.

And the 26-year-old says he has kept pace with the talk of a move to United, but denies any truth in talk of a move to Old Trafford.

"There are rumours," he told France Football. "I am following it a little. But I have four years remaining on my contract with Newcastle.

"Today I don't want to know anything. That is what agents are for."

After defying expectations, manager Alan Pardew believes keeping hold of his star names will be a tough task this summer.

"It's impossible to restrict Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City from coming in for one of our players," said Pardew.

"We have players who are not on the salaries these top clubs can offer."

"If Yohan Cabaye gets a call from Manchester United and they tell him he is going to be the next Paul Scholes, I am not going to be able to stop him.

"It is going to cost Manchester United a shed-load of money but until we have Champions League football - and we might have that by this weekend - we cannot compete with that."

Cabaye will make up part of the French midfield that will take on England in the opening Euro 2012 Group D match next Monday, as one of two holding midfielders along with Alou Diarra, who will replace the injured Yann M'Vila.

France's win over Estonia on Tuesday means they go into Euro 2012 as the form team, with a 20-match unbeaten run handing Laurent Blanc's side the tag of tournament dark horses behind reigning champions Spain and Group B pair Germany and Holland.

Having enjoyed a decent league campaign with Newcastle, Cabaye goes into the summer's European Championship in good spirits after a sterling debut season in the Premier League.

Despite helping Lille to the Ligue 1 title in the 2010/11 season, Cabaye arrived at the Sports Direct Arena as an unknown quantity and admits he was forced to reinvent himself after arriving on English shores.

"When I came to England, I had to start again from scratch. There, they hardly knew me," he added.

"Some players did not even know I was a French champion [with Lille]. So I questioned myself, getting to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible.

"At Newcastle, I had to go and get it. The fight has been permanent. Security would have been remaining at Lille but at that moment I didn't think about it. I went to Newcastle to have success."