NEWCASTLE United have ruled out selling any of their top stars as they look to bolster their ranks ahead of next season.

Sir Bobby Robson is keen to add some fresh faces to a squad that missed out on Champions League qualification when finishing fifth in the Premiership last term.

The Magpies have not paid a fee for a new signing since they shelled out £10m to bring Jonathan Woodgate to St James' Park in January 2003 and, while money has been made available for Robson this summer, the club's budget remains tight.

One way of raising more funds would be to sanction the sale of a star name, with weekend reports suggesting that Newcastle were willing to part company with Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy, Laurent Robert or Titus Bramble if the price was right.

But chairman Freddy Shepherd has emphatically denied that the club would be willing to sacrifice any of their leading lights.

"It's absolutely ridiculous to think we would do something like that," slammed Shepherd. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

Robson is keen to keep his squad intact as he feels Newcastle's players will benefit from having played together last season.

But he is also aware of deficiencies that need to be addressed by the addition of new faces.

Robson's priority remains the capture of a new right-back to replace the departed Andy Griffin, with Chelsea's Mario Melchiot and Leeds' Danny Mills at the top of his shopping list.

Porto boss Jose Mourinho is poised to take over at Stamford Bridge and is likely to deem Melchiot surplus to requirements, while Mills has been told he can leave Elland Road on a free transfer.

Birmingham City are also on the trail of the England international, but Mills is understood to prefer a move to either Newcastle or Middlesbrough, where he spent last season on loan.

Robson remains keen to strengthen his attacking options as well, with the Magpies continuing to monitor Eidur Gudjohnsen's position at Chelsea.

But any new attacker will not be purchased at the expense of either Bellamy or Dyer. Bellamy was part of the Wales side that beat Canada 1-0 yesterday, while Dyer will link up with the rest of the England squad later today as they step up their preparations for Euro 2004.

Dyer is expected to play a prominent role as Sven Goran Eriksson's side play the first of their two pre-tournament warm-up games against Japan tomorrow night.

The attacking midfielder played in the final two games of the season after recovering from a hamstring injury that had kept him sidelined for a month.

But Eriksson wants first-hand evidence of Dyer's fitness levels before he confirms him in his final 23-man squad for next month's European Championships in Portugal.

The England boss has dismissed any suggestions that Dyer's behaviour was being monitored this week but he is still keen to put his physical well-being under the microscope.

The Newcastle midfielder was a late addition to Eriksson's World Cup 2002 squad, but he struggled to hit top form because of the after-effects of a serious knee problem.

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