Micah Richards has blasted talk that he is being greedy over a new contract.

The 19-year-old Manchester City defender is set to sign a £50,000-per-week deal when contract talks resume next month.

But the fact that a deal had not already been signed led to suggestions that Newcastle were ready to step in for the Blues Academy graduate.

Richards is believed to have swapped agents recently, which may have been a factor in any delay.

He said: "It is frustrating to hear people talk about my new contract at City and make out that the reason I haven't signed yet is because I am being greedy when they don't know the facts.

"I have still got two-and-a-half years left on my current deal - it is not as though I am in my last year or six months - and things don't happen overnight.

"As for the speculation linking me with a move to join Kevin Keegan at Newcastle, I don't know where that has come from, but there is nothing in it.

"It is easy for people to make out I am something I am not. But football, and doing well on the pitch, is the most important thing to me"