The former Villareal full-back has been the subject of speculation for months as he has put off contract extension talks, but Pardew insists Mike Ashley has NOT done a deal with Liverpool.
However ... ex-Liverpool defender Phil Thompson recently told the media that a deal had been agreed upon. But the Independent are reporting that Pardew denies any such thing has happened. He said: “There’s definitely no deal between the clubs – 100 per cent. He’s under contract here until next summer and we hope to open talks on a new deal as soon as possible. That’s where we are.
“We want to keep our best players, and Jose’s one of them. As far as anything being a done deal, that’s not true. We want Jose to stay. Nothing’s changed”.
Yet today we read that Newcastle have failed with a bid for Toulouse defender Cheikh M'Bengue.
French sources say Toon have had a €5 million bid for M'Bengue thrown out by Toulouse.
The 22 year-old is a left-back, obviously to replace Jose Enrique.
Toon chief scout Graham Carr has been active in the French transfer market since the New Year and made several checks on M'Bengue.