TONY Adams is ready to step up his pursuit of Joey Barton after Bolton manager Gary Megson refused to increase his £2m offer for the Newcastle midfielder.
Adams, who has given up hope of signing Middlesbrough midfielder Gary O’Neil after the Teessiders turned down a £4.5m bid, is ready to make a formal offer for Barton’s services this week.
The Portsmouth boss, who is desperate to bolster his squad after the sale of both Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe, has identified Barton as his preferred alternative to O’Neil.
And with Bolton having dropped out of the race for the England international yesterday, the path would appear to be clear for Adams to entice Barton to Fratton Park.
While Magpies manager Joe Kinnear has consistently claimed the 26-year-old, pictured right, will not be leaving St James’ Park this month, Mike Ashley is understood to be keen to move Barton on.
The Newcastle owner made an unsuccessful attempt to reduce Barton’s wages while the controversial midfielder was serving a six-month sentence for assault, and attempted to sell him to both Por tsmouth and Bolton on August transfer-deadline day.
Those attempts infuriated Kevin Keegan, and hastened the former manager’s departure from St James’, but Ashley remains keen to remove Barton’s name from Newcastle’s books.
Adams has been monitoring the situation closely, and is hoping his personal relationship with the former Manchester City playmaker will help entice him to Fratton Park.
Adams founded the Sporting Chance Clinic, a facility Barton used extensively as he attempted to address his muchpublicised alcohol problems last year, and helped to mentor the Liverpudlian following his spell at a rehabilitation centre in Hampshire.
Having accepted that his interest in O’Neil is now at an end, the Pompey boss is expected to use the £4.5m he had earmarked for the Middlesbrough midfielder to persuade Newcastle to sell Barton this month.
His prospects improved markedly yesterday when Megson called time on his pursuit of Barton, who could resume training following a knee injury at the end of the week.
The Bolton boss had a £2m bid rejected at the end of last week, and will not be improving his offer for a player who comes with baggage attached.
“We move on,” said Megson.
“Joey is a good player and a former England international, but he has certainly had his problems. There is an amount we would go to and that’s it. We would not go any further.”
Kinnear is keen to hold on to Barton, as he has repeatedly claimed that Newcastle’s midfield options are limited as it is.
*As far as I know Joey is staying at Newcastle. Check back for more updates. It is January afterall and we all know what that is like in the EPL.
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