UNSETTLED Yohan Cabaye is determined to force through a move from St James' Park this week after refusing to play for Newcastle United when manager Alan Pardew wanted him to face West Ham United.

The French midfielder has now missed both of the Magpies' opening two Premier League fixtures of the new season after indicating to Pardew he wants to leave before the transfer window closes next Monday night.

Pardew, who suggested the midfielder's head had been turned in the build up to last week's opening defeat to Manchester City, had hoped to field Cabaye against the Hammers on Saturday.

But Cabaye's request not to play put Pardew in a difficult position, even though the player could still be on Tyneside next week if their valuation has not been met.

Arsenal have already had a £10m bid rejected for the 27-year-old and are said to be preparing a second of somewhere nearer the £20m price-tag. Paris St Germain are still monitoring the situation.

Pardew and director of football Joe Kinnear are considering options on the transfer front if Cabaye does leave in the next seven days, with Blackpool's Tom Ince among those to be on the radar.

Rather than watch Saturday's game, Kinnear was at Valenciennes to see Andre-Pierre Gignac score for Marseille for the third successive game. His team-mate Andre Ayew is also among those being considered.

But Pardew also wants other players to step up to the plate, like Vurnon Anita did in Saturday's goalless draw with West Ham when the Dutchman sat alongside Moussa Sissoko in the middle.

“We still need a little bit more than Vurnon and Cheik Tiote if we lose Cabaye, because he gives us that final, killer dagger to the heart of a pass,” said Pardew, whose side have recorded just one shot on target from their opening two Premier League fixtures.

“We have to replace that if he’s going to go but we’re not sure either way. I think there will be a time, and this is the last thing I’m going to say on him, where we need to resolve that situation and I think this is week is probably a good time to get that resolve.”

A replacement for Cabaye – who will not figure against Morecambe in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday - will be another headache to eradicate before the transfer deadline after a summer of frustration on the recruitment front.

Only loan striker Loic Remy, who could return from a calf problem against Fulham this weekend, has arrived since the end of last season and Pardew is in need of another forward and would like a winger before he even thinks about a replacement for Cabaye.

He has seen his preferred attacking target Darren Bent opt to join Fulham already this summer after the player grew increasingly frustrated by a lack of progress on a deal with Newcastle.

And West Ham's winger Stewart Downing, the same age as Bent and on a similarly lucrative contract, has indicated Newcastle were not prepared to conclude a deal for him with Liverpool because he did not fit the criteria despite Pardew's interest in him.

The Middlesbrough-born 29-year-old, who left for Upton Park for £5m before the new season, said: “There were things going on in the background and Newcastle enquired about me, but it sounds like their owners are similar to Liverpool on transfer fees and wages, the player’s age.

“That all comes into it and I think that was obviously a problem for Alan Pardew. It was one I was interested in and I looked at it, but when I spoke to Sam Allardyce he wanted me straight away and pushed the boat out to get me and there’s nothing more you want as a player.”

After signing a four-year deal at West Ham rather than wait to see if Pardew could convince Kinnear to do a deal, Downing now has his sights set on a World Cup spot next summer.

Downing said: “It’s still a big ambition. I’ve not played for a while, I realise that, but you’ve got to give yourself every chance. If you have a good season things can turn.

“It did for me when I went to the World Cup in 2006. I was injured, but then played for the back end of the season and got in. I just thought I’ve got a chance of playing, but I’ve got to get back in the squad and at Liverpool that might have been difficult.”

He added: “At my age, with the World Cup coming next year, was I going to play enough if I stayed at Liverpool? I just have to give myself every chance of getting back in there with England. I spoke to Sam Allardyce about it and I’ve now got a chance of playing regularly if I do well. In the end, it was a no-brainer.”