CRAIG BELLAMY has been labelled 'arrogant and obnoxious' by a former Coventry teammate as the temperamental Welshman prepares to spend the rest of the season in the cold at Newcastle United.

With the transfer deadline looming on Monday, the chances of Bellamy remaining on Tyneside are increasing by the day with very few takers emerging for the controversial striker.

Former Wales boss Mark Hughes is interested in taking the player to Blackburn Rovers, while Norwich City have revealed that they would like to take him on loan for the rest of the season.

However, Newcastle are presently only interested in a permanent deal which would mean any club wishing to acquire his services may have to meet the £7m asking price.

Championship sides Burnley and Stoke City have also cheekily made inquiries but, as he is under contract, Bellamy holds the upper hand in deciding where his future lies.

He has previously suggested he is only interested in making a move to a club capable of playing in the Champions League, so options are limited particularly with no apparent interest from a top four club.

Norwich boss Nigel Worthington said: "I'd love to get him here. He's a quality player, there's no question about that. It's just a case of giving him the right kind of environment where he's happy, getting on with people and getting on with his job.

"I know he'd be very, very well received here, and rightly so. He did a magnificent job for Norwich in what were difficult times for the football club.

"But he'll either be a Newcastle United player and stay there or there will be a sizeable transfer fee paid and he'll get a permanent move somewhere."

That is why the chances of Bellamy moving on before January 31 remain slight, although manager Graeme Souness remains desperate to broker a deal.

Neither party has backed down from fighting their case that they were right after last weekend's embarrassing public row - where there were claims and counter claims that eventually led to chairman Freddy Shepherd accusing the 25-year-old of "cheating" the club.

And now Bellamy's former Coventry teammate Steve Froggatt has added fuel to the already heated fire.

Coventry head for St James' for an FA Cup tie tomorrow and Froggatt said: "Bellamy has often been labelled as an arrogant and an obnoxious player and I have to agree with that description.

"I played with Craig when I was at Coventry in the 2000/01 season and he was certainly not liked in the dressing room.

"When he first turned up after signing from Norwich for £6.5m he came in holding a pair of gold boots and thought he was the business.

"Our dressing room banter was quality. There was a good camaraderie, but Craig just never fitted in.

"The senior players took a real dislike to him. When I walked in the dressing room they were hammering him constantly.

"Funnily enough, I was on holiday with Gary Speed at the time he signed.

"I remember Gary, who was playing for Newcastle, getting a call from Freddy Shepherd saying Craig had signed.

"I said the Coventry chairman would be doing cartwheels at selling him for £6m. I said I would have sold him for £6.50."

And former Liverpool favourite Jan Molby, who played under Souness when he was in charge at Anfield, has sided with his old boss. "Bellamy is a spoilt brat. People talk about El Hadji Diouf being deported but for me Craig Bellamy should be," said Molby.

"I remember him as a 16-year-old at Norwich when I went on loan there.

"You could see he was a good player but even then he had a swagger, arrogance and disrespect for authority. At 16 that's something you'd have expected him to grow out of, instead it's something he has grown into."

* Newcastle's UEFA Cup opponents Heerenveen last night lost 2-0 to Ajax in the fourth round of the Dutch Amstel Cup.

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