Reluctant Barton set for QPR medical

Joey Barton looks set to join QPR after confirming he is undergoing a medical in London tonight.

Barton travelled to London earlier today for talks after the Loftus Road club was given permission to speak to the 28-year-old, still available on a free transfer after falling out with the Newcastle hierarchy earlier this summer.

The midfielder continues to state that he wishes to remain at Newcastle, but with only one year left on his contract and no new deal forthcoming, he believes he is being forced out.

“Going for a medical now, still no contract offer from NUFC.......think that just about makes my mind up,” Barton wrote on his Twitter account.

“Don’t want to leave Newcastle........I’ve made that clear but my hands are tied.”

Barton's relationship with the Newcastle board broke down after he criticised the club's recruitment policy via Twitter.

Having been forced to train with the youth team and alone in the aftermath of that incident, Barton started Newcastle’s first two games of the Barclays Premier League season after persuading manager Alan Pardew he was fully focused on the task ahead.

He joined the club for £5.8m from Manchester City in June 2007, and had looked close to signing a new deal in January but talks stalled following Andy Carroll’s departure for Liverpool.

The contract on the table then has since been withdrawn and the player has been told he will not be offered another.

The sale of Kevin Nolan to West Ham irked the once-capped England international further, and his comments on the Magpies’ efforts to strengthen the squad this summer were not well received in the boardroom.

However, Barton, arguably the club’s best player last season, has continued to perform on the pitch and has played his part in a stormy 0-0 opening-day draw with Arsenal and Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Sunderland.

Pardew revealed yesterday that Barton would not be involved in tomorrow’s Carling Cup second-round trip to Scunthorpe as he recovered from a minor foot problem, but that he expected him to return for Fulham’s visit to Tyneside on Sunday.

Pardew said: “He answered my question in terms of his commitment to the club and to the team again on Saturday, and that’s what I live and die by.

“You want top players to perform at their top level for your club when you are a manager, and that’s what he did.

“He won’t be involved this Thursday because he has a problem with his feet at the moment which isn’t major, but we just need to rest him.

“But he will be available for Sunday.”

When asked previously about the likelihood of Barton remaining on Tyneside after the transfer window has closed, Pardew has adopted a “never say never” approach.

QPR are the first club to make their interest known, though, but it remains to be seen whether they can persuade Barton his future lies at Loftus Road, with the player having previously indicated he would see out his current contract on Tyneside.

He has also claimed he would only leave Newcastle for Champions League football, but the lure of QPR owner Tony Fernandes’ cash could yet prove decisive.

Rangers boss Neil Warnock is being urged to act swiftly by Fernandes, but insists signing the players he wants is far from easy.

“I’m going to be busy now. I’m doing 12 weeks work in eight days and I’m finding it very, very difficult and tiring,” he said. “I hope we get one in before the weekend just to start the ball rolling.

“It will all be Monday or Tuesday next week. I don’t know why it happens like that.

“We are looking to bring in good players. It’s easier said than done even if you’ve got money.

“The chairman is really trying his hardest. I spoke to him last night and he’s as excited as I am.

“He wants me to have signed them yesterday. You don’t often get a chairman like that. It’s usually always about next month.”

Barton’s departure would further anger Newcastle fans who have taken to him since his emergence from the off-field problems which saw him jailed in May 2008, and would leave Pardew with another significant hole to plug during the remaining week of the transfer window.