Sam Allardyce believes Joey Barton is the complete midfield player.
"And I think Joey has a little bit of everything in his make-up to be a highly competitive midfield player in what is hopefully going to be a top-class Premier League football club here in the future.
"His energy levels are fantastic. He can tackle, although he can be erratic at times, he can head a ball, he can certainly pass the ball - and he also scores goals.
"I think he's got the lot and, hopefully, when he gets the opportunity to put the Newcastle shirt on from the start, he'll keep it.
"In fact, I hope every Newcastle player who has the shirt is looking over his shoulder, knowing if they do not perform to their best, they will have that shirt taken off them."
