Alan Shearer yesterday issued an ultimatum to Bobby Robson, indicating he may leave Newcastle if he is not an automatic choice next season.
The striker's declaration also coincided with reports that Dutch international striker Patrick Kluivert, released by Barcelona this summer, had expressed a strong desire to play for Newcastle.
"This season I want to play football and enjoy it; fingers crossed I want to play in every game," said Shearer, who will retire next summer. "If the manager said I wasn't going to be a regular I'd have to consider things. I don't want my last season to be an anticlimax.
"I want to play as much football as I can in my last season. Everyone knows my love for Newcastle and the only time I'd consider leaving would be if the manager told me before the season I wasn't going to be a regular. I've heard about offers from other clubs - one or two clubs have shown an interest in me and it's flattering. Obviously I'm doing something right."
The former England captain appeared to be attempting to force Robson into stating publicly he remains his first-choice striker.
Robson, though, is a great admirer of Shola Ameobi, who he privately describes as Newcastle's "future", and is also expected to oversee the signing of James Beattie from Southampton next week. Craig Bellamy is also likely to be fit for the start of the season.
Yesterday Shearer was replaced by Ameobi at half-time in a 1-1 draw (and 4-2 defeat on penalties, thanks in part to misses from Lee Bowyer and James Milner) against Thailand in the first match of a tour of the far east.
Shearer, who will be 34 next month, scored 28 goals last season."I think there's a good year left in my legs," he said. "My aim is to finish on a high."
He has recently attracted interest from the Serie B side Genoa and from Qatar.
Shearer and Robson briefly ceased speaking last summer when Shearer discovered moves to sell him to Liverpool, and he was subsequently upset that his one-year contract extension was not finalised until the autumn. Shearer appealed to Freddy Shepherd, Newcastle's chairman, for a resolution. It went his way and when Shepherd declared another Geordie manager would succeed Robson, many assumed it would be Shearer.
Robson was quick to declare his belief that, after playing, Shearer would work in the media rather than become a manager, an announcement that prompted his captain to begin studying for the first of his coaching badges, the UEFA B certificate.
But it now seems his future will be as a television pundit with the BBC.
Kluivert, meanwhile, has made a move to Newcastle his "first choice", according to his agent.
Contact between the two parties has been made and Kluivert's agent Paul Foortse yesterday revealed that St James' Park remains the preferred destination
