Assistant Newcastle boss Chris Hughton admitted any big-name departures would have a major bearing on Toon's fight for Premiership survival. There is continuing speculation about the future of some of his top names like keeper Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia.

Hughton said: "We want to keep what we've got and we are not really in the position where we can afford to lose our best players. We are hopeful of keeping our best players, most definitely."