Alan Pardew has conceded that he could lose some of his key players this summer.
A number of squad members - including Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Papiss Cisse and Cheick Tiote - have all been linked with a move away from the Sports Direct Arena at the end of the current campaign.
Discussing potential departures, Pardew believes that he would be powerless to prevent any of his squad from joining a club that is competing in the Champions League.
"It's impossible to restrict Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City from coming in for one of our players," said Pardew. "We have players who are not on the salaries these top clubs can offer.
"But if Yohan Cabaye gets a call from Manchester United and they tell him he is going to be the next Paul Scholes, I am not going to be able to stop him.
"It is going to cost Manchester United a shedload of money, but until we have Champions League football, and we might have that by this weekend, we cannot compete with that."
The Magpies are currently fifth in the Premier League table.
Liam Apicella
