Source: Northern_Echo
Hughton deciding on striker
CHRIS HUGHTON risks losing Marlon Harewood to one of Newcastle's Championship rivals is he doesn't agree a deal to retain the loan striker for the remainder of the season.[LNB] Harewood's agent has revealed that a quartet of clubs are ready to sign his client if Newcastle fail to take up the option to extend the striker's current deal.[LNB] Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neil has made it clear that Harewood does not figure in his plans, but Hughton is yet to make a final decision on whether to retain the 30-yearold who has netted four times since joining the Magpies on loan in September.[LNB] Harewood scored within ten minutes of coming on as a replacement for Jonas Gutierrez at Barnsley last Saturday and his return to match fitness has alerted Ipswich Town, Cardiff City, Sheffield United and QPR who are all poised to swoop if Hughton continues to stall on a move.[LNB] Harewood has shown signs he's developing a useful partnership with Peter Lovenkrands but is yet to recapture the type of form that made him such a highly regarded figure at Nottingham Forest and West Ham.[LNB] Hughton's confirmation that he will use the transfer window to bring in players to guarantee promotion rather than build towards a potential return to the Premier League makes Harewood a potentially useful figure to have at his disposal during the promotion run-in.[LNB] The player's agent, Phil Sproson, confirmed that after taking time to settle in the North-East Harewood is eager to continue being part of Newcastle's campaign for a return to the top flight.[LNB] Marlon has settled in extremely well and gets on very well with the other players.[LNB] He feels part of it and we hope that something can be sorted, either on a permanent basis or until the end of the season. I know he would like to stay and it would be a real shame if he wasn't able to finish the job, commented Sproson who revealed that he is still waiting to hear from Newcastle.[LNB] He is happy at Newcastle and although it took him a while to get back to the level he wants to be at his form and fitness have recovered and he's enjoying his football again.[LNB] Harewood was booed by Newcastle supporters during the home encounter with Doncaster Rovers in October, but Hughton confirmed he has been impressed by the forward's recent efforts to impress the home faithful.[LNB] Andy Carroll serves a onematch suspension and misses Sunday's derby with Middlesbrough but Hughton is refusing to reveal which strike force he will field against Gordon Strachan's side.[LNB] Hughton said: We have seen in recent games that we have quite a few combinations in attack and they've all been scoring goals. It's a nice decision to make because they are all desperate to start.[LNB]
