Shepherd to keep Dyer in Newcastle flock

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd today moved to quash talk that he is prepared to sell Kieron Dyer to Manchester United.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd today moved to quash talk that he is prepared to sell Kieron Dyer to Manchester United.

Shepherd's move follows another weekend of speculation over the 24-year-old England international's future after Shepherd and his deputy, Douglas Hall, jetted out of Kuala Lumpur and headed to Los Angeles.

Man United are on tour there, and it was revealed the pair were to attend, as guests, the Red Devils' clash with Mexican side Club America early this morning.

However, Shepherd, who last week warned new Chelsea owner Roman Ambramovich that even he did not have enough roubles to buy Dyer, said: "We have no intention of selling Kieron Dyer.

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"I am not here to talk to Manchester United about Kieron Dyer or any other other players. We are a building team, not a selling team. I am here for commercial reasons only. Details of that will be revealed at a later date. My being here has nothing to do with the football side of things".

Newspaper reports claimed Chelsea were ready to launch a bid to snatch Dyer from Bobby Robson's grasp, and that that would rekindle Manchester United's long-standing interest in the former Ipswich midfielder.

Newcastle immediately slapped a £25 million price tag on the player in a bid to ward off any interest, but that back-fired when it was taken as an admission that he was available at the right price.