Mathieu Debuchy has insisted he is staying at Newcastle amid speculation that he could make a swift return to France.
The 27-year-old France international full-back was one of five January signings drafted in to help the Magpies avoid relegation from the Barclays Premier League. However, after a difficult first few months on Tyneside, he has spent the summer break listening to rumours that big-spending Paris St Germain and Monaco were ready to battle it out to take him home.
But Debuchy told the Chronicle: "I don't know about the rumours saying I have been contacted by Paris or Monaco. I feel good in Newcastle. I want to stay In England. I love the Premier League."
Debuchy is one of a series of players has been given an additional few days' holiday after heading away on international duty at the end of the domestic season, and he is expected back at the training ground next week.
The bulk of the players will return in stages over the next three days and undergo fitness assessment before pre-season begins in earnest at the weekend.
They will do so with significant changes having been made behind the scenes with the arrival of director of football Joe Kinnear and the subsequent departure of managing director Derek Llambias having altered the dynamics behind the scenes.
Kinnear is currently attempting to implement the recruitment plan drawn up between he, manager Alan Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last season's troubles.
Debuchy and his fellow new arrivals were thrown in at the deep end as Newcastle belatedly moved to strengthen the squad during the winter transfer window, and the defender admits it was something of a culture shock.
He said: "For me, the Premier League was a big discovery. Everything is much harder than it is in France. The game is faster and the teams are better, even the small teams.
"I also had to learn a new language as I did not speak English. It was complicated, but right now it is better. I love England, even if it is different."
Source: PA
