Newcastle lose out on Aimar and Warnock

On a day when Pablo Aimar left Real Zaragoza for Benfica, Newcastle last night also experienced disappointment when their bid for Blackburn Rovers' Stephen Warnock was knocked back. Newcastle are understood to have offered in the region of £3m for the 26-year-old left-back and are expected to return to Ewood Park with more in the coming days.

Warnock, a product of the Liverpool youth academy, joined Blackburn for £1.5m in January last year and ended an impressive season by winning his first England cap on the tour to the West Indies. The Newcastle manager, Kevin Keegan, has made no secret of his desire to get more cover on the left side and Warnock would be a good addition to a squad.

Aimar, the 28-year-old Argentinian playmaker, was also a Keegan target but he is set to be unveiled as a Benfica player within the next 48 hours after Zaragoza announced last night that they had reached an accord with the Lisbon club. The fee is £7m.

As the Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper said yesterday: "We're pretty depleted. We've lost four or five players and the dressing room is pretty sparse. New faces would give everyone a lift."

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