GRAEME Souness has warned Newcastle to keep their hands off Blackburn midfielder Damien Duff.
Toon boss Bobby Robson is a big admirer of the Irish international and was even prepared to throw in Scottish winger Stephen Glass as a £1m makeweight in a proposed £5m deal.
But Robson has been told he has no chance of getting 21-year-old Duff, who is seen as a key figure in Blackburn's Premiership bid.
"He's not for sale and I have no intention of letting him go," said Rovers boss Souness.
The news will be a blow for Glass, who is resigned to quitting Tyneside in the summer when his three-year contract expires.
"I'm disappointed that there are no talks on a new deal," said the Scot, a £650,000 buy from Aberdeen in 1998.
However Glass could still have a part to play in Newcastle's bid for a place in Europe after recovering from a calf injury.
"If I get a chance I'll give it my best," he promised. "There's the game against Sunderland coming up and I'd love to be involved in that one as I've never played in a Tyne-Wear derby."
Glass has scored twice for Newcastle this season, most famously in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United. But he hasn't started a game since September and it's clear that Newcastle are prepared to release him in June.
Dundee United are likely to revive their interest now that Glass is fit.
But the winger could be involved against Manchester City on Saturday.
Also pushing for a call up is defender Alain Goma, who has confirmed that he hopes to play against City with a light cast on his broken hand.
Goma is back in training after a mini-break in France and insists: "I'm hoping to play either with a cast or without one."
Old boy Steve Howey should be fit for his St James Park return. The City centre-back has been sidelined with a broken toe but he was left out of the cup defeat by Liverpool with the Newcastle league game in mind.
However, Everton's Paul Gascoigne won't make a nostalgic Toon comeback on Saturday week because he has still not fully recovered from a hernia.
l Dundee United are poised to complete the loan signing of former Darlington and Newcastle United striker Paul Robinson from Wimbledon until the end of the season. The forward has fallen out of favour with the south London club since a £1m move from Tyneside last summer
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