Newcastle boss Chris Hughton has no plans to offload star striker Andy Carroll ahead of the club's return to the Barclays Premier League. The 21-year-old striker, who hit 17 league goals in the Magpies' promotion-winning season, has recently been linked in reports with Chelsea.
However, Hughton insists he has had no contact from the Premier League champions, telling The Chronicle: "I can say 100% that I have not heard anything from Chelsea, to me that is just speculation.
"We've got no intention of seeing Andy Carroll leave Newcastle United. The reasons for that are he has the right profile, he's a young player and he's got a big future here with us."
Hughton has also dismissed speculation the north-east club are close to signing Rangers forward Kris Boyd, who is to quit Ibrox, but has not ruled out a future move for the boyhood Newcastle fan.
"Kris Boyd is a good player, but I can categorically say that there have been no talks at this stage," Hughton added.
"You never want to say 100% no, but it's a non-starter at this moment."