[BlackNess]

Allardyce Keen On Ben Haim, Not Giuly

Allardyce Keen On Ben Haim, Not Giuly Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed that he is interested in swooping for defender Tal Ben Haim from his former club Bolton, but denied making attempts to sign Ludovic Giuly or Tuncay Sanli.


Newcastle had been linked with a move for Giuly, who is tipped to leave Barcelona this summer, while Fenerbahce's Tuncay had also been connected with the Magpies, but Allardyce, who took over last month at St James' Park has dismissed the reports as speculation.

However, Big Sam has confirmed that his interest in Israeli international Ben Haim is true as he targets defensive signings to correct Newcastle's notoriously leaky backline.

Allardyce told The Journal: "Everyone knows that we are on the look-out for players and, unfortunately, that means we are going to be linked with a lot of names this summer.

"But, as far as I am concerned, the stories linking us with Tuncay Sanli and Ludovic Giuly are agent talk.

"My main priority at the moment is signing defensive players and that is where we are looking to strengthen.

"We want to get that department right before we start looking at other areas.

"We are very interested in Ben Haim, but he is getting ready for his wedding next weekend. It is something I will be chasing up this week."