Alan Pardew laughs off claims Newcastle are set to sign Wayne Rooney

A move was mooted on the Sports Direct website, which is owned by Mike Ashley

Wayne Rooney (GETTY IMAGES)

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has laughed off claims that he will try to sign England striker Wayne Rooney this summer.

A report on the Sports Direct news website, which is linked to club owner Mike Ashley's business, this week claimed preliminary talks had already taken place with the 27-year-old's future at Manchester United uncertain after he handed in a transfer request.

The story was quickly retracted and Pardew is not expecting the club to renew its interest in Rooney after making a failed £25million bid for him when he was a teenager.

Pardew said: "When Demba [Ba] went in January and we didn't secure [Loic] Remy, it was obvious that we were going to need to bring in a striker or two in this summer window, and hopefully we can.

"But Rooney won't be one of them, 100 per cent, I can assure you."

PA