KEVIN Keegan today warned Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger off Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins.
Wenger has again been linked with a £15m swoop for the 23-year-old, who struck 10 goals for Newcastle this season.
While there could be one or more players following Stephen Carr and Peter Ramage out of the St James's Park exit door this summer, Keegan is determined that Martins will not be one of them.
> > Click here to join our Football Forum and have your say on this story and read the other postsAsked if he had heard from Wenger, Keegan told the Gazette: "I haven't, no. They've definitely not approached me.
"But I want to keep all my players, and add to them, if I can. Anyone that goes will be a bit of a blow, especially if something like that happens late on (in the summer)."
However, Wenger, or any other interested manager, would not necessarily go to him to sound out Martins's availability, with executive director (football) Dennis Wise having been put in overall charge of the club's recruitment.
Martins has three years left to run on the five-year deal he signed in August 2006 after then manager Glenn Roeder signed him for £10m from Inter Milan.
There have been reports Newcastle are ready to renegotiate his contract to remove a £13m buy-out clause.
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The full article contains 242 words and appears in Shields Gazette newspaper.