Once, twice, but not three times a Mag

Following his surprise release by West Ham after a solitary season at Upton Park, Nobby Solano has mentioned his desire to find employment with another English club - but stressed that he's very unlikely to have the corridors of St James' Park echoing to the sound of trumpet solos for a third time.

"Everybody knows what I feel about Newcastle and those fans, but it would be difficult to ever return there. The reason I was forced to leave Newcastle was because of family reasons, and that situation has not changed."

More's the pity. Nobby might be knocking on a bit, but he could still probably do a useful job on the right flank for us if, as is rumoured, James Milner is off to Liverpool or Villa.