 CHRIS HUGHTON has issued a fresh "hands off" warning on his first-team squad and says he remains confident that no bids will materialise for his star men. Hughton is adamant that the club have not received one enquiry about any of his senior men – and that includes Steven Taylor and Andy Carroll, who have been heavily linked with a move away from St James’ Park. The United boss says they will be the “heartbeat” of his side next season, and that he is only interested in adding to his squad and not dismantling it. “I can categorically say that we have not had one bid or any interest in any of our first team players and we wouldn’t welcome any either,” he told the Chronicle. “There have been no offers for either Steven or Andy. They are important players for us. “The interest that we’ve had in our players has been about the younger lads, possibly taking them on loan, and that is something that we have to decide on later in the summer.” Hughton returned to the training ground today to finalise United’s pre-season preparations. The club confirmed today that they will travel to Spain on August 3 for a friendly clash with La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna on August 3 (9pm kick off), leaving just one friendly slot left to fill. The players are back at United’s Benton training base in just over a fortnight and Hughton still hopes to have new faces on board by the time they all return. The club has been linked with Bolton defender Jlloyd Samuel, whose camp are understood to be encouraging the links, and also a surprise swoop for Algeria goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi. His club Slavia Sofia have claimed interest in the stopper who kept out England on Friday, but it would be a major surprise if United bought a goalkeeper when they already have three top class players competing in that position. Nevertheless, Sofia’s owner Ventseslav Stefanov claimed there was interest from Tyneside. “There is a real interest of Newcastle but it is too early to speak about a transfer. I will await the best offer for the player and the club to make a decision,” he said. Meanwhile, Hughton says United will have appointed a new reserve-team boss before the players report for pre-season training on July 5. Hughton is without a third-in-command after Alan Thompson left to join Celtic’s backroom staff earlier this month – but he said the club are close to appointing a replacement. Former Middlesbrough coach Martin Scott has applied for the post, while internal candidate Steve Stone is another whose claims are being studied carefully. There have been other applications too, and Hughton says the calibre of the candidates has impressed him. “It’s something that we’re working hard on and I expect to have someone in before the start of pre-season,” he said. | 
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