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£5.5m Barton is heading for Toon
Last updated at 11:37am on 04.06.07Newcastle are expected to sign controversial Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton for £5.5million later today.
The St James' Park club will use the money from Scott Parker's £7m transfer to West Ham to immediately plug the gap he will leave in their midfield.
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Ready to go: Joey Barton
Barton has been unsettled at City and has admitted he is open to offers from other clubs.
The 24-year-old claimed he had too much respect for City fans to talk about joining specific clubs but said he had to think about his future if the club decide to sell.
Barton missed the closing weeks of last season after being suspended by former City boss Stuart Pearce following a training ground incident involving team-mate Ousmane Dabo.
Barton thanked the City fans for their support but reiterated his belief - recently aired in a thinly-veiled attack on former manager Stuart Pearce's transfer policy - that club have under-achieved.
"Through my trials and tribulations the fans have backed me, not all of them but a lot of them have backed me," Barton said.
"They obviously all know who they are and for me to come on and talk about going elsewhere is degrading to them.
"We have achieved nothing at Man City and I think of the fanbase there and the support structure within the club - the club should be achieving.
"I spoke out publicly about it and everyone knows my opinion on it - I don't need to go there again.
"But I want to win trophies and I think as a footballer you are not judged on the amount of money you've got in the bank or the amount of houses you've got, or the amount of flash watches or cars you've got, you're judged on your trophies and your accolades at the end of your playing career."
Barton has a reputation for ill-discipline after being involved in a number of high-profile incidents in recent years.
He accepts he has an image problem but is keen to alter people's perceptions of him.
He said: "It is disappointing that people have a certain opinion of me but I meet countless people who, in all aspects of my life, will testify 'you're not the person you're made out to be'.
"At certain times I don't do myself any favours with incidents but to make out I'm some kind of yob, some kind of psychopath for want of a better word, is so far from the truth it's unreal."
Reader views (2)
I think Joey Barton will be a great aquistion to the squad. It will add the "bite" Newcastle have been missing from the midfield for quite some time, and hopefully Mr Allardyce will get the best out of a potentially world class footballer.
Welcome aboard Joey, good luck!
- Kev Howell, Hebburn. Tyne and Wear
The last thing Newcastle need is thug like Barton on the books. It will be £5.5 million wasted.
- Gordon Simpson, Newcastle
