McClen happy to stay

As Newcastle waited for a club to come in for McClen, the 24-year-old insisted he was happy to stay until he was given an acceptable offer.

He has already made it clear he is unwilling to go down two divisions and join Hartlepool United, who are interested in him.

Newcastle's senior squad is so big that there is no room for McClen, Robbie Elliott or Wayne Quinn to share the training ground's main dressing room.

But McClen said: "My first priority is first-team football but I've also got to consider my financial position.

"The stories you hear about wages dropping massively are frightening; it's not unusual for players to be offered deals that are up to 80 per cent below what they've previously been on.

"I would be stupid to accept an offer from another club which would mean me losing thousands of pounds.

"Although I would love the chance to speak to other clubs in the UK and in Europe, I'm still a Newcastle United player.

"Just over 12 months ago, I was good enough to be offered a three-year contract by the club. It's still possible that I'll be here in June 2005."

McClen's comments came as Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd revealed his club were yet to receive an offer for any of their five transfer-listed players.

Elliott, Quinn, Nikos Dabizas and Clarence Acuna, along with McClen, were all made available at the end of last season.

But Shepherd said: "We haven't had any bids for any of the five players put on the transfer list in May.

"In fact, we haven't had a sniff of a bid all summer for any of our players.

"To be fair, it's a reflection on the state of the transfer market today; it's not just happening at Newcastle United, but also at other clubs."

Newcastle target Patrick Kluivert has committed his future to Barcelona after he was linked with a £1.2m move to St James' Park.

Kluivert said: "I want to stay."

A Barcelona spokesman added: "Patrick's agent has told us that he wants to play here next year."