Newcastle place Taylor on transfer list

Taylor will be out of contract at the end of the season (GETTY IMAGES)

Newcastle are ready to sell defender Steven Taylor after failing to agree a new contract.

Press Association Sport understands the 24-year-old has been transfer-listed with the two sides a significant distance apart on the financial aspects of the deal.

Taylor's current contract is due to expire at the end of the season and he would be able to leave the club on a free transfer then.

As a result, the Magpies have reluctantly decided they may have to cash in on him now.

The news will come as a huge blow to the club's fans, who have seen Taylor emerge from the ranks to become a genuine first-team player.

He is currently recovering from shoulder surgery after missing the second half of last season through injury.

Taylor is alleged to have suffered a broken jaw in a training ground incident involving striker Andy Carroll towards the end of the campaign, although the club drew a veil of secrecy over the matter and the issue was resolved internally.

Today's news comes after a positive few days for the Magpies, who celebrated their return to the Barclays Premier League with a 6-0 demolition of Aston Villa on Sunday with Carroll scoring a hat-trick.

It may be that the club's stance is a bargaining ploy and that there could yet be movement, but the Mike Ashley regime has adopted a strict policy on wages which it is not prepared to break.

Taylor's situation has been monitored for some time by a series of potential suitors, including Liverpool and Chelsea, and while he has repeatedly stated he wants to play for his home-town club - he stayed last summer to play in the Championship when he might have moved - matters could yet be taken out of his hands.

Newcastle later confirmed that Taylor had been transfer-listed.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm that Steven Taylor is on the transfer list."