• Pardew says no £8m bid and would take 'silly money'
• Newcastle trying to renegotiate Demba Ba's contract
The Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, has laughed off suggestions that Barcelona could prise Yohan Cabaye from his grasp for as little at £8million.
The 26-year-old midfielder proved one of the buys of last season after making a £4.8million switch from the French double-winners Lille to Tyneside, and further enhanced his reputation on international duty at the Euro 2012 finals.
A report on Wednesday claimed the Catalan giants could be preparing an £8million bid for Cabaye, but with Newcastle ready to fend off all but "silly money" offers for their biggest names, Pardew has warned them not to bother.
He said: "The interest is purely speculative. We have had no contact and certainly no offer, and obviously we wouldn't even consider an offer anywhere near that region."
Cabaye is the latest in a long line of Newcastle players to have been linked with summer moves away from the north-east after excelling in last season's unexpected surge to fifth place in the Premier League.
The goalkeeper Tim Krul, the midfielder Cheik Tioté and the striker Demba Ba, who has a release clause in his contact which means he is particularly vulnerable until the end of this month, have also been touted for possible exits.
Ba, who scored 16 goals last season, 15 of them before heading off on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal at the turn of the year, has indicated he is more than happy to remain on Tyneside but the speculation over his future remains intense.
It is understood efforts to renegotiate his contract are ongoing but in the meantime Pardew, who distanced himself from talk of Carroll returning to his home-town club on loan from Liverpool, is remaining calm.
"The situation with Demba has been the same since he arrived at the football club: he has a contract to Newcastle United, he is loved here," said Pardew.
Pardew's comments came against the backdrop of a report from the Middle East that Jamal Al-Kazemi, the chairman of Kuwait's Al-Arabi Sports Club, was close to sealing a deal to buy Newcastle.
Sources on Tyneside swiftly dismissed the claims, which suggested the club could be available for as little as £80million.
Newcastle's owner, Mike Ashley, who bought the club for £134.4million in 2007, is understood to be pressing ahead with a long-term plan after presiding over the club's recovery from a potentially disastrous relegation at the end of the 2008-09 season. Read More
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