SAM Allardyce has issued Newcastle centre-half Steven Taylor with a stark warning as he returns from international duty with the senior England squad - "Don't become the next Michael Ricketts".

Taylor was an unused substitute as England suffered a 2-1 defeat to Germany on Wednesday night, but while the 21-year-old might not have made his full international debut at Wembley, his elevation to Steve McClaren's senior ranks underlines how highly he is rated following his exploits in this summer's Under 21 European Championships.

Allardyce, who remains hopeful of completing the capture of long-term target Abdoulaye Faye despite Bolton boss Sammy Lee's intention to play the defender in tomorrow's game with Reading, accepts that one of his biggest challenges this season could be keeping Taylor's feet on the ground.

But the Magpies manager is confident that a cautionary tale from the past will help him to guide the youngster through the pitfalls that could lie ahead.

Five-and-a-half-years ago, Allardyce was the manager of Bolton when a 23-year-old Michael Ricketts won his one and only England cap in a 1-1 draw with Holland.

At the time, Ricketts was being hailed as the brightest attacking prospect in the country. Today, however, he is with Oldham Athletic.

Allardyce attributes the speed of his demise to the change of attitude that accompanied his promotion to the England squad and, as he turns his attention towards Sunday's North-East derby with Middlesbrough, the United boss is determined to ensure that Taylor learns from Ricketts' mistakes.

"There is no question that what happened to Michael Ricketts will help me," said Allardyce. "Michael played two games in one day - his first and last for England.

"His advisors around him at the time were the biggest destructive influences in his career. They disrupted him by telling him they had bigger and better clubs, so he stopped playing for us.

"We got fed up with him and ended up selling him. He couldn't rekindle what he had when he joined Middlesbrough, and he's now playing for Oldham. To go from an England debut to Oldham in the space of four years just shows what can go wrong.

"At one stage, Michael was the leading English striker in terms of Premier League goals. But he played against Holland and went into a terminal decline from there. Unfortunately, he couldn't turn his career around."

Thankfully, Taylor is unlikely to follow Ricketts' template of self-destruction. The Geordie centre-half remains refreshingly down-to-earth for a Premier League footballer, and his willingness to return to Stuart Pearce's Under 21 set-up confirms that he continues to view his footballing development as a work in progress.

Allardyce will urge him to ignore outside influences and rely on the advice and guidance of those closest to him, while also suggesting that he confides in the likes of Michael Owen and Nicky Butt, players who were forced to handle stardom at an early age.

"It's not an easy task," he admitted. "You would hope Steven and his family would be sensible enough not to get carried away by it all. But he is a young man, and lots of publicity can make you feel good.

"It can build you up, but it's only a short step from confidence to arrogance. When you get arrogant, you stop listening to advice.

"Fortunately, there are lots of people here who can talk to Steve. There's Michael, Nicky, Alan Smith and Geremi - people who have played a lot of games for their country and seen more about football than most. Those guys will be very helpful to Steve as he continues his development."

That development will continue on Sunday, and it could yet involve a partnership with Faye despite Bolton's latest attempts to hold on to the versatile defender.

Allardyce has been attempting to buy Faye for more than a fortnight but, while the Senegal international has passed a medical on Tyneside, Bolton officials had been holding out for a £2m fee.

The Magpies are understood to have offered around half that amount last week, but a compromise agreement was reached last night.

That should be enough to complete a deal that is likely to be Newcastle's last of the summer, even though Lee intends to play the African this weekend.

"I have spoken to Abdoulaye and he has worked hard this week on the training ground and is eager to play on Saturday," said Allardyce's successor at the Reebok Stadium. "I did leave him out of the last two matches because I felt the speculation was getting to him and it has been difficult for the boy.

"He has responded well this week, though, and he will come into contention against Reading at the weekend."

Meanwhile, Albert Luque is on the verge of completing a permanent move to Dutch side Ajax.

Ajax officials are understood to have been on Tyneside yesterday discussing a loan move that will turn into a permanent switch next summer.

Despite spending £9.5m on the Spain international in August 2005, Newcastle chairman Chris Mort is willing to let Luque leave on a free transfer in order to save around £9m on his wages during the remaining three years of his current deal.