Fabricio Coloccini set to stay at Newcastle United

Coloccini and Snodgrass vie for the ball (Getty Images)

Newcastle skipper Fabricio Coloccini will remain with the club until at least the end of this season.

After days of delicate negotiation following the 31-year-old defender's request to be allowed to return to Argentina because of personal problems, he has agreed to stay on Tyneside and will continue as captain.

Manager Alan Pardew said: "Coloccini is going to stay with us and will remain as captain, which is fantastic news for us.

"We have managed to persuade him that, as much as his family, we need him. He has shown fantastic loyalty to come and play and see us through to the summer at the very least."

Today's news came as a huge boost to Pardew during a week in which the relegation-threatened Magpies have added three more players to their squad following the earlier capture of Mathieu Debuchy.

It began with Coloccini's advisors travelling to Tyneside in an attempt to release him from the new four-year contract he signed just last season, as request which was never likely to be accepted.

Newcastle have no game this weekend after going out of the FA Cup at Brighton, but will resume against fellow strugglers Aston Villa in the Barclays Premier League on Tuesday evening.