More release clause headaches for Allardyce
Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce may have an anxious wait over the future of his premier strikers after it emerged Obafemi Martins has a £13m get-out clause in his contract.
It is understood the clause was included in the 22-year-old Nigerian's contract when he completed his £10m move from Inter Milan last summer.
With speculation continuing over England forward Michael Owen, who has a £9m release fee, Allardyce could yet lose both men.
The Magpies boss held talks with 27-year-old Owen at the England team hotel ahead of the B international against Albania last month.
However, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid player is yet to confirm publicly whether he intends to stay on Tyneside after two injury-plagued seasons which have seen him manage only 14 appearances since his £17m move from the Bernabeu.
Martins appeared to commit his future to the club earlier this week with four years remaining on his contract after hitting back at suggestions he had gone AWOL for Newcastle's final match of the season at Watford.
Both Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger are known to be admirers of the Nigeria international and continuing speculation over the futures of Andriy Shevchenko and Thierry Henry does not help matters on Tyneside.
Allardyce moved swiftly to recruit Mark Viduka from Middlesbrough as his first signing and he has been repeatedly linked with the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Fredi Kanoute, El-Hadji Diouf and, more controversially, Craig Bellamy, in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, defender Steven Taylor was today returning from Holland with an injury after England's exit from the European U-21 Championships on penalties to the hosts.
A scan is understood to have confirmed he has an ankle ligament tear which will sideline him for around four weeks and could rule him out of the club's pre-season training camp in Austria, although Allardyce had already decided both he and fellow England U-21 team-mate James Milner would be ordered to rest.
