Source: Northern_Echo
Magpies rebuff Birmingham Ranger approach
NEWCASTLE have rejected Birmingham City's offer to take Nile Ranger on a six-month loan, but Magpies officials are still hoping to sever their ties with the out-of-favour forward before the end of the transfer window.[LNB] Birmingham boss Chris Hughton had hoped to become reunited with Ranger, having developed a fruitful working relationship with the 20-year-old during his time at St James' Park.[LNB] However, having been relegated to the Championship, the Blues are not in a position to sign the striker on a permanent basis.[LNB] Hughton made contact with his former employers earlier this week in an attempt to set up a loan agreement, but his approach was rebuffed.[LNB] Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has decided that Ranger does not have a future on Tyneside, so the Magpies would rather sell than agree to a temporary arrangement.[LNB] They thought they had agreed a £1.5m deal with Blackpool earlier this month, only for talks to collapse when the Seasiders were unable to agree personal terms with Ranger's representatives.[LNB] Newcastle officials are hoping those discussions could yet be resurrected, and are also aware that a number of other Championship clubs are monitoring Ranger's availability.[LNB] They could yet agree to a loan move with a view to a permanent signing at the end of it, but are understood to harbour reservations about Birmingham's ability to make such a firm financial commitment at this time.[LNB] As a result, they have opted to bide their time rather than agreeing to a loan deal that could have seen Ranger back on their books by the turn of the year.[LNB] Newcastle's willingness to sell the striker reflects their confidence that a new attacker will be arriving on Tyneside before the start of the Premier League campaign.[LNB] That attacker could yet be Mevlut Erdinc, although the Turk's reluctance to travel to England for talks hardly augurs well.[LNB] The Magpies are willing to give the 24-year-old until the end of the week to make a decision on his future, but if they do not receive a positive response by then, Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr will look elsewhere.[LNB] Paris St Germain are due to play in the Emirates Cup in London this weekend, and it will be interesting to see whether Erdinc is named in their squad.[LNB] Pardew flew back from Newcastle's pre-season tour of the United States yesterday, and despite a litany of problems that began when Ranger, Joey Barton and Yohan Cabaye were denied visas to even travel to America, he has declared the trip across the Atlantic a success.[LNB] We've had some really good training days and some great games, he said. Overall, the tour has been very constructive for us and we've had a defeat, a draw and a win.[LNB] We'll look at it and see if it's something that we want to do again because the competition was great. It would be a good place to come back to because we've gained a lot of friends.[LNB] On a tour like this you learn about the players' personalities and get to know them a little bit better. They are a good set of lads who want to do well.[LNB]
