According to a source close to Joey Barton.....

The Scouse midfielder wants to stay on Tyneside. Numerous reports in the local rags are running with the piece, which I personally hope is true.

However, whenever I read the words "a source close to" I shiver a little bit and a small piece inside of me dies. Dramatic? Maybe. But it's symptomatic of what I feel when I read those words as invariably they end up being made up or inaccurate or some such. Still, let's take a look anyway...

“Joey wants to stay at Newcastle because he is happy here. He may be opinionated at times, but he hasn’t forgotten what Newcastle did for him during his time at the club, and he’s got a lot of respect for all of the staff there, from the manager down," said the source.

“There has been talk that he was ready to quit the club, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. His main priority is to stay here – and always has been. Joey has got a great rapport with the Newcastle fans who obviously appreciate his efforts on the pitch, and he wants that relationship to continue.”

Now I think I've warned people enough that this is not from Barton, or anyone officially connected to Barton, but I thought I would say it again anyway.

Fingers crossed that the 'source' turns out to be accurate this time, but I won't be holding my breath.

What do you reckon?