Pardew dismisses Enrique claims

Published Apr. 13, 2011 3:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

Speculation has been rife in recent months that Enrique will leave Tyneside during the summer after putting talks over a new contract on hold. Liverpool old boy Phil Thompson said in a television interview over the weekend that he understood a deal had been done to take Enrique to Angield, a claim which the Magpies were not prepared to comment on. However, Pardew, who has repeatedly spoken of his hopes of persuading the left-back to extend his stay at St James' Park, is adamant that is not the case. He told the Evening Chronicle: "There's definitely no deal between the clubs - 100%. "He's under contract here until next summer and we hope to open talks on a new deal as soon as possible. That's where we are. "We want to keep our best players, and Jose's one of them. As far as anything being a done deal, that's not true. We want Jose to stay. Nothing's changed." Enrique endured a tough first couple of season on Tyneside after making a £6.3million switch from La Liga in August 2007. Meanwhile, Pardew has been boosted by the news that a scan on Shola Ameobi's knee injury has revealed no lasting damage. The 29-year-old missed Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa because of the problem, but he is expected to return to full training by the weekend and could be in contention for Tuesday night's clash with leaders Manchester United.