NEWCASTLE United are braced to receive offers for three of their key players in the final four days of the transfer window.

Magpies officials will make a final attempt to re-sign Liverpool striker Andy Carroll ahead of Friday evening's transfer deadline, although there is a reluctance to bid more than the £12m that was discussed as part of a possible loan deal earlier this month.

However, Alan Pardew's toughest task this week could be to hold on to Cheik Tiote, Fabricio Coloccini and Hatem Ben Arfa in the face of increasingly frantic interest both at home and abroad.

Tiote's future is the most uncertain, as Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is poised to lodge a £15m offer for the Ivory Coast international, who was not involved in Newcastle's 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday evening because of a knee problem.

Pardew would be extremely reluctant to lose Tiote so late in the window, but Mike Ashley's previous transfer dealings prove that every player in the squad has his price, and it could be argued that Vurnon Anita, signed from Ajax for £6.2m, is a ready-made replacement for the African.

“Has there been interest in him (Tiote)? We haven't had any calls as far as I know,” said Pardew, in the wake of his side's Stamford Bridge defeat. “I hope that he will be fit next week. He is an important player for us and is hard to replace when he's out of the team.”

The same could be said of Coloccini, who has been the subject of mounting interest from reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

The Newcastle skipper only recently signed a new long-term deal at St James' Park, but he was widely regarded as one of the most reliable centre-halves in the top-flight last season and Roberto Mancini is keen to bolster his defensive options before the transfer window swings shut.

Mancini has also lined up Ben Arfa as a possible alternative to Swansea winger Scott Sinclair, who is his preferred option to replace Adam Johnson, who made a £10m switch to Sunderland on Friday night.

Ben Arfa was also linked with clubs in Spain and Italy over the weekend, and his eye-catching start to the season has seen him attract coveted glances from a number of different quarters in the last two weeks.

As well as keeping his current squad together, Pardew would like to make at least one more addition this month. Carroll remains one of his primary targets, although time is running out if he is to strike an agreement that is acceptable to both Liverpool officials and the Gateshead-born striker and his representatives.

When asked directly about the Carroll situation at the weekend, Pardew replied: “That is above me, that deal. It's a financial deal that will be done at board level – if Liverpool and us can agree.

“If you are asking me on a playing level would I like him in the squad, then of course it would be a nice dimension for us.”

Pardew is also in the market for a full-back, although his long-running pursuit of France international Mathieu Debuchy has not progressed in the last couple of weeks.