Alan Pardew is keen to get Inman out on loan in order for him to pick up some vital first-team experience ... but the kid wants a move to a more competitive level than the Professional Development League.
Inman – who was played for Scotland at youth level due to family roots – is holding out to play higher up the football pyramid.
The 20-year old is in the first year of a two-year deal which was handed to him last term.
The talented Australian is now reaching the stage where he can’t prove much more in the reserves.
Reserve-team boss Willie Donachie and Toon development chief Peter Beardsley are regulars at the International Stadium and have a good relationship with Heed manager Ian Bogie.
Short-term deals for Tavernier and Paul Dummett have helped move them up the senior ladder with the Yorkshireman now a regular squad member at first-team level with the Magpies and the Geordie boy playing every week in the Scottish Premier League for St Mirren.