Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew hopeful Liverpool target Jose Enrique will stay

Alan Pardew set for first game in charge of Newcastle against Liverpool (Getty Images)

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Alan Pardew remains hopeful that left-back Jose Enrique could stay at Newcastle United this summer.

Despite the delay in him signing a new contract, the former West Ham and Charlton Athletic boss is refusing to give up hope on the 25-year-old staying at St James’ Park.

After a string of good performances last season, the Spaniard, who arrived on Tyneside in 2007 from Villarreal for £6.3 million, has reportedly attracted attention from Liverpool and Arsenal.

Pardew told BBC Newcastle: “I’m still hopeful that Enrique, who was a big player for us last year, stays at the club and we can entice him to stay. We are still working on that.

“We’re not confident we can keep him, but we’re not scared of losing him.”

Newcastle have had a busy summer so far with Yohan Cabaye arriving from Lille, Demba Ba joining from West Ham and Sylvain Marveaux from Rennes.

They have also been heavily rumoured to be interested in Mevlut Erding, a Turkish winger who plays for French team Paris Saint-Germain, and Swansea full-back Neil Taylor.

However, the north-east club sold captain Kevin Nolan to relegated West Ham and Joey Barton’s future is not yet certain.

Pardew guided Newcastle to 12th in the Premier League last season after being appointed as manager in December following Chris Hughton’s sacking.

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