Alan Pardew: Newcastle boss bemoans price of English players

Alan Pardew is adamant that Newcastle United struggle to afford to sign English players following a recent enquiry to another Premier League club.

Newcastle have enjoyed success in bringing players over from France in recent seasons and Pardew is aware of criticism about the lack of English signings at St James' Park.

However, with Luke Shaw joining Manchester United in a £30million deal and Adam Lallana tipped to move to Liverpool for a fee in the region of £25million, Pardew has insisted these type of fees are out of Newcastle’s reach.

Pardew revealed he showed an interest in a home-grown player at another club, but has been forced to scrap any plans for a deal due to the price he had been quoted.

"The fees being paid for players such as Luke Shaw and, it seems, Adam Lallana, illustrates an important point that supporters need to understand,” wrote Pardew in his column for the Independent on Sunday.

"Clubs like Newcastle get accused of not signing English players, but these are prices mid-table teams in the Premier League simply cannot afford, unlike Champions League clubs with their extra revenue.

"We recently enquired about an unproven player not in the side at one of our top clubs, and we were asked £14million. He will not be joining.

"Yet we can pick up players such as Yohan Cabaye, Mathieu Debuchy and Moussa Sissoko for reasonable fees, all of who have been starring for France at the World Cup."