ALAN PARDEW admits it is a “risk” to allow Jak Alnwick and Sammy Ameobi to enter the final six months of their contract without a new deal being agreed, but is hoping the uncertainty will ensure both players remain hungry to succeed.

Alnwick and Ameobi are expected to start Newcastle United’s televised game at Arsenal this afternoon, and the pair are both due to become free agents at the end of the current campaign.

Two or three months ago, there was little chance of either being offered a deal to remain at St James’ Park, but just as Ameobi has impressed since breaking into the team in late October, so Pardew is hoping Alnwick will seize his chance to catch the eye in the next four or five games.

The 21-year-old will stand in for injured duo Tim Krul and Rob Elliot, and is effectively playing for his future as the Newcastle hierarchy ponder whether to offer him a new deal.

The alternative is that he is released for nothing next summer, and while the Magpies could also have to write off a potential fee if Ameobi becomes a free agent, Pardew feels the uncertainty could potentially help both players raise their performance levels.

“Yes, it’s a risk, but we take risks all the time with contracts,” said the Newcastle boss. “You can give kids five-year contracts like Haris (Vuckic) has got, but sometimes you have to make calls either way.

“Sometimes, you make those calls because of the personality of the player. I think Sammy having his contract up at the end of the year is a good thing for him. It keeps him hungry.

“I think Jak knows this is a real game changer for him. It can be. He’ll have roughly seven games – he might have that in goal - and it’s a great opportunity for him.

“Who knows? After five or six, we might be kicking ourselves that we didn’t give him one (a contract). It might have been cheaper! The ball is very much in Jak’s court, and that’s where it will stay until such time as the two goalies come back and we make a decision.”

Newcastle officials examined the possibility of making an emergency loan to rectify their goalkeeping situation, but Premier League officials moved quickly to confirm that any application would be rejected.

As well as Alnwick, the Magpies also boast Freddie Woodman in their first-team squad, and while the 17-year-old is still to make his senior debut for the club, his status as an England under-19 international means he could justifiably be regarded as a senior player.

In addition, Newcastle also signed Karl Darlow from Nottingham Forest in the summer, although Pardew feels it would be grossly unfair to regard the recent arrival as a Newcastle player when the terms of his loan back to the City Ground preclude any possibility of a recall.

“We have two fit professionals, and until you’re down to one, you can’t call that emergency loan in,” said Pardew. “Freddie Woodman is one, even though he’s 17.

“Karl Darlow can’t be called back, so that rule (if he’s counted as one) is wrong. If every other club can have an emergency loan and we can’t purely because we’ve got a player who is out on loan for a year, it doesn’t make sense. I think that is going to be looked at.”

While Darlow arrived on Tyneside in the summer, albeit briefly, Newcastle said goodbye to full-back Mathieu Debuchy, who completed a £12m move to the Emirates.

Debuchy made 46 appearances as a Newcastle player, and while the capture of Daryl Janmaat tempered the effects of his departure, Pardew was still disappointed to lose the experienced France international.

“We loved him here,” he said. “He was a great personality and a great player. The financial part of that deal was the reason we lost him – there is no doubt about that because I would have loved to keep him.

“We’ve been very fortunate that Janmaat’s arrival has been seamless, but that’s no disrespect to Debuchy because he’s a great player.”

Pardew was celebrating yesterday morning after he was named Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month for November.

The Magpies won three of their four league games last month, beating Liverpool, West Brom and QPR as they moved into the European positions in the table.

The award was Pardew’s third Manager of the Month trophy, with the most recent having come exactly 12 months ago in November 2013.

“Our recent form has been a real team effort both on and off the pitch,” said Pardew. “The players have been fantastic during this time, and huge credit must also go to my staff, who work tirelessly behind the scenes.”