Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has dismissed reports claiming striker Albert Luque is set for a return to Spain.
The 27-year-old striker joined Newcastle for £9.5m from Deportivo La Coruna in the summer but has only made a handful of appearances after suffering a hamstring injury at the start of the campaign.
“These stories are just rubbish,” Shepherd told Newcastle’s website.
“I don’t know where people get the idea from that we’d consider selling a player we worked so hard to sign only four months ago.”
Barcelona and Real Madrid have both been linked with a move for Luque in January.
But Shepherd insisted Luque is going nowhere.
“Why on earth would we do that? Albert has only been here a short time and the best is still to come from him in a black-and-white shirt,” added Shepherd.
“He is regarded as one of the best players in Spain and we think he will be a big player for us, so these stories are ludicrous.”
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