Newcastle’s season has taken another turn for the worse with manager Joe Kinnear accusing Charles N’Zogbia of trying to engineer a move away from the club.
The French midfielder, 22, was unhappy Kinnear mis-pronounced his name, calling him “Insomnia”, in an interview after Wednesday’s defeat to Manchester City.
And N’Zogbia reportedly said he would never play for the club under Kinnear.
“Sadly, this just smacks of a desperate attempt to engineer a move away from Newcastle United,” said the manager.
“OK, I got a little tongue-tied, but if I had a pound for every time I’ve mis-pronounced a player’s name down the years, then I’d be a very wealthy man indeed.”
However, N’Zogbia’s agent Franck Peslerbe insists that his client is not looking to quit and claimed it is Kinnear who is eager to get rid of him.
“I don’t think any person would be happy with this situation,” he told BBC Sport.
“Joe Kinnear insulted Charles at a press conference so now the direction of Charles is not very simple.
“It is hard not to react when you boss calls you mad. He has said it is a mistake, but he has not made any mistake regarding other players names.
“When you respect somebody you don’t make this sort of mistake in a public situation.”
He added: “It is clear what he meant. If he meant it as a joke, it is a good joke for Kinnear but to Charles, it is not.
“I don’t know if he will play for Newcastle again, he is refusing to play for Joe Kinnear.
“He doesn’t want to leave but Joe Kinnear wants him to leave, that is not the same thing.”
N’Zogbia has been linked with moves to Aston Villa, Arsenal, Tottenham and Lyon, but Kinnear insisted he had received no offer for the winger who signed a five-year contract in 2007.
“There have already been plenty of quotes attributed to Charles during January, saying he is interested in leaving for other clubs,” added Kinnear. “But the truth is we haven’t received a formal offer for him.”
Earlier, the Press Association reported N’Zogbia had released a statement saying he had played his last game for the club while Kinnear was in charge.
“First of all I wish to apologise to the fans for wanting to leave the club,” N’Zogbia’s statement read.
“However, having been insulted by Joe Kinnear, I will never play for him again while he remains Newcastle manager.
“The club are aware there are offers on the table and they should accept one of them.”
