“He won’t be leaving”

While Magpie supporters nerves might be rattled with the thought of Shay Given moving on to another club, Joe Kinnear attempted to shut the down on this type of clatter. Speaking to The Journal, the Newcastle boss said:

“He won’t be leaving - he has no interest in that whatsoever. He loves the football club. He’s part of the city and that suits us because he’s a world-class goalkeeper. He’s very happy here, he’s very comfortable at Newcastle United.”

The Republic of Ireland ‘keeper has proven out to be the clubs most valuable player in the first half of the campaign and through the darkest moments provided a foundation to build up. Put succintly, Joe Kinnear said of him

“He’s the best goalkeeper in the Premier League by a mile.”

Now the key is retaining the “best ‘keeper” and with £8m being bantered around and the club in need of funds, at what price do they consider a deal reasonable? While Shay’s level of expertise is irrefutable with Steve Harper and Tim Krul waiting in the wings is the insistance that he is not moving part of a “bargaining chip” to raise the ante?