NEWCASTLE United will not be making a renewed effort to sign Loic Remy if QPR are relegated to the Championship next month.

Magpies managing director Derek Llambias is expected to pursue a new striker this summer, with Demba Ba’s January departure to Chelsea having left Newcastle short of attacking options despite the arrival of Yoan Gouffran.

Newcastle’s scouting team identified Remy as their preferred replacement for Ba, and the club agreed a £10m deal with Marseille for the Frenchman’s services. However, QPR persuaded Remy to shun Tyneside and move to Loftus Road instead.

Remy has scored three goals in six Premier League appearances for Harry Redknapp’s side, but his efforts look like being insufficient to keep QPR in the top-flight.

If Rangers go down, there will be an attempt to move Remy on in order to remove his wages from a wage bill that will be unsustainable in the Championship.

However, Newcastle will not be making a second attempt to lure him to the North-East, with senior officials adamant they will not be offering an olive branch to a player who let them down in the past.

Instead, the Magpies will pursue alternative targets, with St Etienne’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang currently their preferred option.

Newcastle’s more immediate focus is Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final with Benfica, and Tim Krul, Davide Santon, Massadio Haidara, Cheik Tiote and Sylvain Marveaux are all winning their battle to be fit for the trip to Lisbon.

Alan Pardew was missing a host of players as Newcastle slumped to a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City at the weekend, but the injury situation is set to improve markedly in the next 48 hours.

Krul’s return will be especially welcome as the Dutch goalkeeper has not been involved since injuring his ankle in the closing stages of February’s Europa League win in Kharkiv.

Rob Elliot has proved a reliable deputy, but Krul remains Newcastle’s established number one and his return should help solidify a defence that was repeatedly carved open at the weekend.

Santon, Tiote and Marveaux’s problems are much less serious than Krul’s, and the trio could all find themselves in the starting line-up on Thursday night.

Haidara suffered extensive bruising when he was on the receiving end of a dreadful challenge from Wigan’s Callum McManaman last month, but the French full-back has stepped up his training and could make the matchday squad in Lisbon.

“Marveaux had a slight groin strain in the week and I was a little bit worried bearing in mind we’ve got Benfica and then Fulham, which is probably more of a winnable game,” said Magpies manager Alan Pardew. “I didn’t want to lose him.

“Cheik could be okay for Thursday, and Santon was perhaps a day’s training away from being involved (at Manchester City). Massadio is close, and so is Tim. I need them all back for Thursday because we know the next two are really important games for us.”

After taking on Benfica, Newcastle host Fulham in a Premier League game that is likely to prove crucial to their chances of an early escape from the drop.

Win, and the Magpies could effectively secure their topflight status when they host North-East rivals Sunderland on April 14. Lose, however, and Newcastle could find themselves only out of the relegation zone on goal difference with six games remaining.

Their position worsened at the weekend when Wigan claimed a 1-0 win over Norwich, but despite now only being three points above the drop zone, Steven Taylor insists he is unconcerned at the prospect of relegation.

“I am confident in my teammates,” said Taylor. “I look around the dressing room at the players and who I train with every day, and what I am sat around is top-class.

“This definitely makes me believes we are going to do well.

“We are not looking down – we are looking up. We are looking at who we can catch and chase.”

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