Barton pondering QPR move

Soccer: Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton will mull over a potential move to QPR after completing a medical with the London club on Thursday.

The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract at St James' Park and was recently made available for a free transfer after criticising the club's transfer policy via his Twitter account.

Barton was at QPR's training ground in Harlington today undergoing the second part of a medical but left without signing a contract with the west London side.

The former Manchester City midfielder 'tweeted' this afternoon that he needs "some thinking time and space" before penning a deal. The post followed comments made earlier in the day in which the former Manchester City midfielder gave little away.

"The latest is that we are just completing the final stages of the medical, so we will just get that over and done with and then see where we are at," he told Sky Sports News. "I have not made a final decision just yet, but speaking to the club, they have got big ambitions and I had to come down and hear what they have got to say and go through the formalities of the medical side of it just in case any deal does happen."

Asked if he was optimistic, Barton replied: "I am not sure. There are still a number of things to be sorted out, but it's a process you have to take step by step, and that's the stage we are at at the minute."

QPR manager Neil Warnock was also keen to reject the notion that the signing was a "done deal", but admitted that he would like the transfer to be completed as quickly as possible.

"I don't think you can say that about any deal really until people sign," he said this morning. "I am not getting my hopes up one way or another. We've made him a very good offer and I think Joey appreciates that. Although I hope Joey doesn't think we're going to pay him what some of the papers said we were going to pay him this morning.

"I think you always want to get them completed as soon as possible. I would like to bring in a couple before the weekend and that is what I am going to try and do."

While a move to QPR is in the offing, Barton previously suggested that he would see out the final year of his existing deal on Tyneside and has started the club's two Barclays Premier League games to date this season.

Talks on a new contract at St James' Park stalled in January and the offer with which he was presented then has since been withdrawn.

Relations between the two parties have soured further since with the player receiving a fine of two weeks' wages after criticising the club's transfer policy, which could ultimately lead to the midfielder becoming a Rangers player in time for Saturday's clash at Wigan.

Barton previously said he would only leave Newcastle for Champions League football and Warnock admits the signing would be some coup for the Shepherds Bush outfit.

"I think we're lucky to be looking at a player like that," Warnock said. "It shows how ambitious the chairman (Tony Fernandes) is. He listened to the players I would like to bring in and Joey was one of them. We've just got down the line and we hope to bring in another four or five before next Wednesday night."

Warnock added: "Joey will be an outstanding player week in, week out. He is a super player and I've always liked him. He knows that. I tried to sign him a couple of times, once at Sheffield United."