Ginola's request granted

Newcastle's unsettled winger David Ginola has had his transfer request granted by the club, and appears certain to leave Tyneside in the summer.

The request had been endorsed by the Newcastle manager Kenny Dalglish and was yesterday ratified by the club's board of directors. Marseilles and Paris St-Germain are expected to lead the chase for the Frenchman.

Sir John Hall, the Newcastle chairman, paid tribute to Ginola but accepted his reasons for wanting to leave. "He is a tremendous player, very skilful and one of those who delights the crowd," Hall told Radio 5 Live. "I don't know much of what went on between him and the manager - I have been away on holiday - but I know the board accepted his written request for a transfer.

"I think basically the one thing you find in football is that players come and go - and possibly in David's mind he feels he has served us well at Newcastle. He had been a tremendous asset to the club and will be difficult to replace. Some of the goals he has scored have been spectacular."

Ginola was recruited from PSG by Dalglish's predecessor, Kevin Keegan for pounds 2.5m in July 1995 and made 34 league appearances last season. But the arrival of Kenny Dalglish as manager after Keegan departed in January led to Ginola's career taking a downward spiral.

The two men appear to have developed a dislike of one another, and there were reports of a training ground bust-up. Ginola was again omitted from the side that beat Derby last Saturday.