Newcastle will only sell for 'an Andy Carroll price', says Pardew

Posted Sunday, July 15, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has vowed that the club will not sell its marquee players this summer, unless it is paid over the odds in "an Andy Carroll price".

The Magpies fell just short of a surprise Champions League place last season, securing Europa League football by finishing fifth in the Premier League.

With several clubs now reportedly ready to swoop for the Tyneside outfit's top talent, the Englishman claims that sales will only be negotiated at prices which match the "inflated" 35 million pound fee received for Carroll from Liverpool in January 2011.

Pardew told reporters: “I know we can sign two or three players and keep all those we have. I know we can do that. I think we will be stronger.

“And if we do lose a marquee player to a really inflated price – an Andy Carroll price – then we have got to trust our judgment and go into the marketplace and bring in an equivalent, and I think Mike [Ashley, owner] is quite comfortable with that.

“The big job this summer is keeping players, as well as signing them. I think that is the key.

The former West Ham boss also called for his squad to look to improve on its impressive showing during the last campaign.

“We finished fifth, but that was last season," he added. “It is important that the message gets through to the players here that, while it is a good finish, it isn’t winning the league.

“There are still four places to aim at above us and, if you want to be a winner, then you have to be better than you were last season.”