NEWCASTLE face a battle to land one of their leading summer transfer targets after Lille boss Rudi Garcia expressed a desire to keep Mathieu Debuchy in France.

Debuchy has emerged as the Magpies' preferred replacement for right-back Danny Simpson, who is expected to leave St James' Park this summer unless he is able to agree a new deal.

Even if Simpson remains on Tyneside, Alan Pardew is keen to strengthen his back four and Debuchy would still be a desirable option after an impressive campaign in Ligue One.

The 26-year-old is a close friend of Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye and has expressed a desire to move to the Premier League once he has represented France in the European Championships.

Newcastle's chief scout, Graham Carr, has watched Debuchy on a number of occasions this season, and the Magpies hierarchy have already discussed a potential approach for the full-back.

Garcia is aware of the growing speculation surrounding Debuchy, but does not regard the departure of one of his leading players as a foregone conclusion.

"I want all the important players to stay at Lille next season," said Garcia. "I include Mathieu in that.

"I want him to have a great time at the Euros and then come back to us and show his best form during the summer."

Pardew is hoping to make a number of additions this summer, and is confident Newcastle will maintain their stellar transfer success rate as they attempt to strengthen their squad.

As well as targeting a full-back, the Magpies manager is also keen to recruit a new centre-half, with the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Douglas and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa under consideration.

A striker could also be required if Newcastle are unable to agree a new deal with Demba Ba, who insisted on the presence of a buy-out clause in his contract when he agreed to join the Magpies as a free agent last summer.

Ba is one of a number of players to have performed superbly since moving to St James'.

The likes of Cheik Tiote Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse have been huge successes on Tyneside, earning plaudits for Pardew and his scouting team, which is led by Carr.

The pair accept it is impossible to enjoy a 100 per cent success rate in the transfer market, but expect Newcastle to continue to make more right decisions than wrong ones, a faith that is shared by the fans.

At first, there was scepticism about a transfer policy that prioritised the purchase of young, relatively unproven players, often from overseas. Now, however, there is almost unanimous praise for the club's transfer methodology.

"I think we have the confidence of our supporters going into this window and that's something I don't think you could have said for a long while," said Pardew, who is unlikely to conduct any business until the end of Euro 2012.

"That comes through the business we have done recently and of course, that will help us. That trust can be a very important thing.

"We're going to make mistakes at some point but we haven't made many. And I think the supporters can see that with this policy, if we sign three or four players we should have at least two who are very good ones. That is our ratio at the moment and it is a pretty good ratio."