Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins has opened talks over a new contract.
Martins, 22, had been linked with a move to Arsenal after it emerged that he had a release clause in his contract allowing him to leave for £13m.
Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce wants him to sign a new contract that would remove those clauses.
The former Inter player is ready to listen to Newcastle’s offer. “We are talking, that is all I can say for now,” Martins told Kick Off.
“Like I told you before, all I knew about the Arsenal thing was what I saw in the media.
“I am a Newcastle player and my part is to score goals for Newcastle and I am happy to be doing that.”
Martins says he is ready to compete with Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Shola Ameobi for a place in Newcastle’s forward line.
“It’s always good to score goals and for me, it is important to improve every season,” Martins said.
“I scored 17 goals last season so this season maybe I should be looking at doing better than that. Twenty goals is possible and I hope I can do that.
“Both Viduka and Owen are great players and it shows that the manager is serious about achieving something this season.
“But I want to play all the time and as long as I am scoring goals, I think I can make it hard for him not to play me.”
