Ranger set for Tykes loan

Nile Ranger: Set to join Barnsley from Newcastle on a short-term loan deal

Barnsley expect to sign Newcastle striker Nile Ranger on a short-term loan deal in the next 24 hours, the Championship club have confirmed.

The Tykes are looking to bring 20-year-old Ranger to Oakwell on loan until 14th January next year.

The news comes after the wayward striker appeared in court on Thursday to deny charges of assault and being drunk and disorderly.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew subsequently defended Ranger, insisting the youngster had a future at the club if he could learn to live with the responsibility of being a professional sportsman in the Premier League.

He said he would try to arrange a short-term loan deal to another club for Ranger to give him a taste of first-team football, and it appears Barnsley will be his destination.

Accused

The London-born forward, of Edwins Avenue South, Forest Hall, North Tyneside, pleaded not guilty to two counts of common assault, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a separate count of being drunk and disorderly at Newcastle Magistrates on Thursday.

He is accused of assaulting two revellers and two police officers outside a bar in Newcastle city centre on August 27th, and of being drunk and disorderly in Newcastle on October 30th.

He will next appear before Newcastle Magistrates on January 12th to be committed to Crown Court for the alleged assaults and to face trial for being drunk and disorderly.

Pardew said: "This is a guy who has got real talent and he needs to understand that there is a professionalism that comes with his football.

"I think he does understand that now."