Newcastle United planning to sack jailed midfielder Joey Barton

Manager Kevin Keegan wants to keep Barton, despite him being imprisoned for six months in May for assault and affray.

The player faces another trial later this month for allegedly assaulting his then Manchester City clubmate Ousmane Dabo last year.

Barred: Joey Barton

But the Newcastle hierarchy, led by owner Mike Ashley, executive director Dennis Wise and vice-president Tony Jimenez, are not happy and could move to dismiss the player even before the case begins on June 30.

Stuart Pearce, City boss at the time of the Dabo incident and now an assistant to England head coach Fabio Capello, will be a key witness for the prosecution at Manchester Crown Court, where he and a number of players are expected to give eyewitness accounts of what happened at the training ground in May 2007.

Newcastle have taken legal advice since Barton was involved in violent incidents in his home city of Liverpool in December.

He has four years of his contract to run, but Newcastle believe his conviction and imprisonment give them legal grounds to sack him for gross misconduct and avoid paying up the remainder of his deal, just as Chelsea did after Adrian Mutu failed a drugs test in 2004.

A FIFA tribunal have now told Mutu he must pay Chelsea £9.4million over the incident. Newcastle would try to retain Barton's registration to recoup some of the £5.8m they paid City.

Barton, who has not been paid since he was jailed, has been told his only hope of staying is if he agrees a pay cut of up to 50 per cent and even that offer, which he is unlikely to accept, will be withdrawn if he is convicted in the Dabo case.

Newcastle feel the forthcoming trial will further tarnish the club's image and the fall-out from the incident with former France star Dabo will hinder their attempts to sign French-speaking players.

France and St Etienne striker Bafetimbi Gomis, now at Euro 2008, was the latest to reject them.