SIR BOBBY ROBSON last night insisted Newcastle may never have a better opportunity to acquire Wayne Rooney's services - claiming Manchester United are out of the running for the Everton star's signature.

The conspiracy theories have been in overdrive since the Magpies' £20m bid was rejected by the Goodison Park board on Monday night. But Robson is adamant the attempt to land Rooney is a genuine one and not a publicity stunt.

The Newcastle boss also revealed his hopes of filling the void left by Jonathan Woodgate in defence will not be distracted by the exciting shot at luring England's teenage striker to St James' Park.

According to sources on Merseyside, Everton, in the midst of a financial crisis, will be tempted into a sale if the bid rises to nearer £30m.

However, Newcastle are only prepared to offer £10m short of that so they will still have some cash available to fund a deal for Woodgate's replacement.

One option chairman Freddy Shepherd may discuss with Robson is the possibility of adding one or two players to the initial deal that remains on the table at Everton despite being turned down.

And the Newcastle manager is not worried about the prospect of having five top class forwards - Rooney, Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy, Patrick Kluivert and Shola Ameobi - on his books if the 18-year-old does move to Tyneside.

"Wayne Rooney's not just another striker," said Robson. "We are not going to waste money on just another striker. He is the finest, potentially, most exciting player in Europe. You can't blame us for trying that.

"We should be applauding the chairman. We are trying to bring the best young striker in the country to this club.

"We couldn't buy Rooney unless we sold Woodgate. Even Man United can't buy Rooney. The most famous club in the country can't buy Rooney. We made an offer for him, they can't make that offer. I know Sir Alex and he would love him."

Robson will still have the same problems defensively against Norwich City tonight - with Titus Bramble still unavailable after his hamstring trouble.

But, following the departure of Woodgate, the Newcastle manager remains as focused as ever on finding a new centre-back.

Robson confessed he has been offered over 20 defenders since the former Leeds man left for Madrid in a £13.4m deal, but none are of the quality he has been looking for.

"If we got Rooney in then we could still get a centre-half in," said Robson, who was warned off William Gallas earlier this week by Chelsea's Jose Mourinho. "We are aware that we have lost Woodgate. We know what we have lost and we know we have to replace him. We are diligently working on that issue.

"You will appreciate it's not easy. There are plenty just not available.

"We've been quoted more for some players than we received for Woodgate.

"We are working away at trying to bring in a player who we know is good enough. We are looking for a quality player.

"A genuine quality player, someone who can play in the Premiership and it doesn't have to be long term. We need a steadfast centre-half who has been around a while."

Lee Bowyer is in the squad for tonight's game after resuming training but will not start as he is not back to full fitness after recovering from conjunctivitis.