Pardew "not really comfortable" with Jose.

It's been well over a week since the players returned to Long Benton for pre-season training, yet there is still no movement with regard to Jose Enrique's contract.

It's been well documented that NUFC have tabled a "fantastic" offer of a new contract to the 25-year-old left-back, although how lucrative that contract actually is has not been revealed. Shame really as it may stop some of the £35,000-a-week wage cap theories.

Anyway, back on thread. With no movement as yet with Jose it's looking increasingly likely that the Spaniard has no real intention of signing a new deal at the club. To me it looks as though he is waiting to see what comes along, but with the avenues of escape closing around him it may not be this summer that Jose will get the move to the Champions League team he craves.

That causes a situation which Alan Pardew feels "uncomfortable" with. He told The Journal:

“Jose seems fine but the situation hasn’t really changed. He’s made it pretty clear that he still won’t sign a contract and that his future may be elsewhere."

“I’m not really comfortable with that but we’ll have to deal with it and we’re still hoping that he signs a contract with us. There has to be doubt over that situation.”

What does "not really comfortable" actually mean though? Does it mean that the club don't want to lose the player for nothing? Does it mean that he is worried about the application of the Spaniard? Who knows, but it's a situation that could have been avoided had the club moved a bit quicker and tied Jose down sooner.

To me he was never in the category of a Joey Barton or a Kevin Nolan where age comes into it. Jose has years ahead of him so the risks of giving him a new deal would have been less had they moved a season earlier and offered him a deal then. Granted, as we well know, a contract means nothing but a guarantee of wages these days, but at least the club wouldn't be faced with the prospect of losing one of the most highly coveted left backs in the league for a fee of nothing.

I must admit that I'm getting pissed off with Jose in all this aswell. Yes it's his career and it's his right to seek out the best deal for him, wherever that may be, but for a player who was "happy to spend the rest of his career at Newcastle" I'd expect a little more clarity from him so that the club can plan for each eventuality.

The saga continues...