Chris Hughton admits to Sol Campbell interest

Nov 20 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

“I think (the speculation) has come very much from their camp, There hasn't been much from Newcastle except when I've been asked questions. Would I be interested? The answer is yes, but he's only one of a number of players.

“As for Gary (Caldwell), he is a very good player. What we need to do is bring players in who we feel will add to squad we’ve got. But at the moment there's been no contact with his people.”

More pressing is the club’s interest in French trialist Fabrice Pancrate, who furthered his bid for a permanent contract with a smart 80 minutes in the second string defeat of Hartlepool in midweek.

Hughton wants to see the former Paris Saint Germain winger train with his senior men for a few more days before deciding whether to offer him a permanent deal.

“We will be assessing him over next few days,” he said. “We have only had him for very short period of time – it's question of the terms and whether we need to see him for a longer period of time.

“It's been the international break so training numbers have been small. We needed to see him in 11-a-side which we did and I thought he did well.”

Meanwhile, Hughton will seek talks with Shola Ameobi after the striker declared his intention to represent Nigeria at the World Cup.

Switching allegiance would mean that Ameobi, who will return to full training following a broken foot next week, could play in the African Nations Cup in January – ruling him out of a maximum of eight league and cup games.

“It’s one that I intend to talk to Shola about very soon. I will see what is thoughts are,” he said.

“My only concern at this moment is to make sure he is fit for Newcastle.

“We need him as soon as possible because he’s missed three months now after a really good start to the season. I want to see him producing for Newcastle.

“Shola is a good lad and a thoughtful lad, and if his thinking is that there is an opportunity to play at international level then I can understand it.”