ALAN Pardew will hold urgent talks with Danny Simpson before the end of the month in a final bid to resolve the defender's future.

Pardew is keen to hold on to the 25-year-old full-back, who will not be involved in Newcastle's final game of the season at Everton after damaging his ankle.

But the Magpies manager has accepted he will be forced to sell Simpson if he remains unwilling to sign the new contract that was rejected earlier in the season.

With the former Manchester United trainee due to enter the final year of his current deal this summer, an initial round of contract talks took place last autumn.

Those discussions broke down at an early stage, with Simpson and his representatives understood to have been unhappy with Newcastle's offer.

The defender is one of the lowest-paid players on the Magpies' books - his current deal is believed to be worth around £10,000-a-week - and is hoping to increase his earnings significantly after establishing himself as the club's first-choice right-back.

Further talks took place shortly before Christmas, only for both parties to go their separate ways without an agreement being reached, and the last five months have witnessed an uneasy truce with Newcastle officials refusing to table an increased offer.

That remains the club's position, although there could potentially be some leeway for an improved bonus structure to raise Simpson's weekly wage, and this month's discussions are seen as a final opportunity to broker a deal.

If they collapse, Pardew will look to move Simpson on, with sources in London claiming Chelsea scouts have been taking a keen interest in the defender in the last couple of months.

Newcastle's scouting staff have also been busy in recent weeks, and Pardew has already compiled a shortlist of potential targets in the event of Simpson leaving.

Lille right-back Mathieu Debuchy is a long-term target, and the 26-year-old is expected to leave his Ligue One employers this summer after recently breaking into the French national side.

Debuchy, who has also been linked with Manchester United, is a close friend of former Lille midfielder Yohan Cabaye, and is keen to ply his trade in the Premier League.

However, given that he is contracted to Lille until 2015, Newcastle could have to pay up to £9m to acquire his services.

Burnley's Kieran Trippier would be a much cheaper option, and the Magpies have sent a senior scouting delegation to Turf Moor on a number of occasions this season to run the rule over the 21-year-old.

Trippier, who was recently named Burnley's Player of the Season, has three years of his current deal to run, but could potentially be available for around £4m.

Pardew is keen to sign three or four senior players this summer, as well as revamping his development squad with the addition of a number of promising youngsters.

Romain Amalfitano has already agreed to leave Reims and sign a three-and-a-half year deal, while France under-19 defender Christophe Lowinsky will travel to Tyneside later this month for a trial.

Lowinsky, who is currently playing with Marseille's reserve team, is known to influential chief scout Graham Carr and boasts six caps for France at a variety of youth levels.

The French market has proved extremely profitable for Newcastle in recent seasons, and Pardew is looking forward to seeing one of last summer's key signings back in action ahead of the start of the new campaign.

Sylvain Marveaux arrived with a lofty reputation when he completed a free transfer from Rennes last June, but has not been involved with the first team since damaging his groin in November.

His first season on Tyneside has strong parallels to the debut campaign experienced by Hatem Ben Arfa, and while Pardew is keen to avoid a direct comparison between the two French wingers, he hopes Marveaux makes a similarly successful return to senior action next season.

"Sylvain's looking really good in training at the minute," said the Newcastle boss. "You have to remember that he was out for a long time before we signed him, so he's almost had 18 months without any kind of football at all.

"We have to be careful with him. To be pitching him in now would be a little bit unfair, but he certainly looks good. I think a holiday will do him good because he's worked ever so hard to get back.

"Pre-season will be an extremely important period for him, and that'll be his best route back in terms of finding his real ability. He certainly has ability and it'll be great to have him available for next season.

"He's got great technical ability, he really has. In terms of talent and technique, he's definitely a top player."

* Shane Ferguson is part of the Northern Ireland Under-21 squad that will face Macedonia in a European Championships qualifier tomorrow.