Newcastle United have had a £4.2million bid for Ipswich Town defender Titus Bramble turned down.

United and relegated Ipswich remained tight-lipped, although the Suffolk outfit admitted at the weekend that they had rejected an offer from another club for an unnamed player.

United boss Sir Bobby Robson has been keeping a close eye on 20-year-old England Under-21 international Bramble, but has not shown his hand until now because of an Achilles problem which required surgery.

Robson is desperate to strengthen his defensive resources for what will be a huge season for the Magpies after managing to mix and match during the last campaign.

Nikos Dabizas and Andy O'Brien, aided at times by loan signing Sylvain Distin, shared the responsibilities in the middle for much of the season, with Distin eventually ousting Robbie Elliott to claim the left-back spot and the versatile Aaron Hughes lining up on the right.

Distin's departure to Manchester City, as well as the need for improvement with Champions League football beckoning, means that Robson has had to step up his rebuilding plans.

Although Bramble is relatively inexperienced, the 69-year-old coach will be confident of honing the player's game at St James' Park.

However, United chairman Freddy Shepherd is not a man to be held to ransom.

If Town refuse to budge the Tynesiders, who have already been linked with more than 50 potential targets since the end of last season, will look elsewhere.

Robson has already staged one transfer coup this summer by snatching Portuguese midfield starlet Hugo Viana from beneath the noses of Liverpool and Celta Vigo.

With the lure of European football among his bargaining tools, is hopeful of adding further names to his shopping list before the summer is out.