Newcastle failed with Kluivert bid

Newcastle's hierarchy are believed to have approached Barca president Joan Laporta and vice-president Sandro Rosell at the Uefa Cup draw in Monaco last month.

The Catalan outfit did not entertain talk of a transfer at that point, having just ironed out Kluivert's contract which took most of the summer.

However, Newcastle were told that Kluivert could very well be made available for transfer in January.

The former Milan star has made a poor start to the new season and a section of the Camp Nou faithful have even started booing him - which has lead to the player questioning his own future at the club.

Barca also realise that Kluivert's release clause drops from the current ‚é¼36 million (£24 million) to just ‚é¼1.8 million (£1.2 million) in the summer, and so a move in January when the transfer window looks highly likely.

Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson is a huge fan of the Dutchman and would love to partner him in attack with Alan Shearer.

Manchester United and Liverpool are also rumoured to be monitoring the situation, but Newcastle would appear to be in pole-position should Kluivert decide to make the move to England.