Bolton could renew interest in Newcastle's Joey Barton

08 May 2009 08:46
The 26-year-old was suspended indefinitely last week by manager Alan Shearer following a dressing-room bust up, and there has since been mounting speculation that Barton has played his last game for the club. Megson had a £2 million offer rejected in the January transfer window and he could be prepared to pursue his interests in the knowledge that Newcastle may accept a cut price deal to wash their hands of Barton as soon as possible. Not wanting to discuss another club's player in too much detail, Megson said: "We had an interest in Joey in January. There are obviously issues but he does play his football for somebody else so we need to respect that. We can't talk about other people's players." Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce is also said to be toying with the idea of taking a second gamble on Barton having revived his career once already when he brought him to St James' Park in 2007 after an acrimonious end to his time at Manchester City. Shearer, meanwhile, had little comment to make regarding the incident with Barton as he spoke at the club's press conference this week. Insisting they had far greater things to focus on, he said: "Joey has been suspended until further notice. "The club wants to look at a few things and they will make another statement or comment when the time is right. "But other than that, I think there are far more important things to talk about than what has gone on this week."

Source: Telegraph