MATHIEU Debuchy insists he has no regrets about his January move to Newcastle United despite his first five months on Tyneside hardly going to plan.

Debuchy came close to joining the Magpies last summer, only for a proposed move from Lille to collapse when the two clubs repeatedly failed to agree a fee.

At that stage, the France international was poised to join a team with aspirations of qualifying for Europe for a second season in succession, but when he eventually completed a £5.5m switch in January, the 27-year-old linked up with a side that was struggling in the bottom half of the table.

Since then, things have gone from bad to worse, with Newcastle only securing their Premier League status when they beat QPR in their penultimate fixture of the season last weekend.

Nevertheless, Debuchy insists he has no regrets about his decision to swap the upper reaches of Ligue 1 for a relegation battle in the English top-flight, even though he concedes the physical challenges have come as something of a surprise.

"Since January, I have discovered many things and I really have no regrets about coming to Newcastle," said the full-back.

"When we arrived, me and the other new signings knew that Newcastle were not in a good situation.

"Yo (Cabaye) explained to me that here, all the matches are tough. I've realised that quickly. There was the Europa League, which took a lot of energy, even though we are not going to hide behind that.

"Physically, it is a big step for the French between the two leagues. You have to be prepared. I felt it from my first matches. It is full on from the beginning to the end. So we knew it would be tough to the end. Well, it has been."

Debuchy was one of five French players to arrive on Tyneside during the January transfer window, and it is impossible to claim that any have been an unqualified success.

Debuchy's sending off against Liverpool capped a difficult settling in period, while Massadio Haidara, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Moussa Sissoko and Yoan Gouffran have all taken time to fully adapt to the rigours of Premier League football.

To make matters worse, the French contingent have had to contend with accusations of a split in the camp, a suggestion Debuchy is quick to downplay.

"There is nothing broken, there is nothing like that," he said.

"Since January, I've never read the English press, so I do not know.

"But in France, they must surely talk. They will say 'Newcastle signed many (French players) and there are no results. But now I hope we have a good foundation for next season, with a strong group in place."

Ryan Taylor will not be part of that group, as a second cruciate knee ligament injury in the space of two years will rule him out of the majority of next season.

Taylor has travelled to the United States to visit world-renowned knee specialist Dr Richard Steadman, and is set to go under the knife later today.

"All ready for my long flight to Denver," Taylor tweeted. "Loads asking am I going to see Dr Steadman? I sure am. I'm over to have my ACL repaired again. Then the recovery begins to get back."

Meanwhile, a website with links to Sports Direct, the company owned by Magpies owner Mike Ashley, has apologised for linking Newcastle with a move for Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.

The website responsible for the report last night issued an apology, saying: "Sports Direct News wishes to express its sincere apologies to Wayne Rooney and Triple Sports and Entertainment Group for publishing the article 'Newcastle in shock Rooney bid', which was formulated and published without authority, merit and is untrue."

* Newcastle's development side secured a 6-0 win at Consett last night in the final game to be staged at the Northern League side's Belle Vue Park. Newcastle's goals came from Bradden Inman, James Tavernier, Michael Richardson, Rolando Aarons, Jonathyn Quinn and Remie Streete.