Newcastle United have quashed speculation that the club are planning to launch a bid for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Reports had surfaced on a website attributed to SportsDirect, which is a company owned by Magpies supremo Mike Ashley, that the North-East outfit were interested in signing the England international.

Despite the report, the Premier League club have branded such suggestions as "absolute nonsense", insisting that the website reporting the article are an independent company, according to Sky Sports News.

While Rooney's future is unlikely to be at St James' Park, there have been claims that United's league rivals Chelsea are interested in the striker.