Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew expects that his star players will remain on Tyneside in the summer because he does not believe that those tracking them will be able afford the asking prices.

Cheick Tiote has been linked with a move to Manchester City, while Tim Krul and Demba Ba are said to have interested Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea respectively.

Pardew insists that he has no problem with other clubs tracking his players, as he knows that prising them away from the club will prove very difficult.

He said: "Speculation is part of the game and I have no problem with that, but all of our best players are on long-term contracts here.

"Anyone who looks at this football club will know we are difficult sellers.

"Someone is going to have to pay a lot of money to take one of our players away, especially considering where we are right now and are having success."

Dutch keeper Krul signed a new five-year contract earlier this month.

Written by
Robert Summerscales