Mark Bosnich will contest the English Football Association's misconduct charge which followed his positive test for cocaine.

The goalkeeper has always maintained that he never knowingly took drugs and has requested a personal hearing to explain to an FA commission why cocaine was in his system.

A date has not been set, but early indications are that it could be the first week of February. Bosnich had been given 14 days to respond to the charge, and did so yesterday.

Craig Bellamy has signed an £8 million contract which will keep him at St James' Park until 2007.

The Wales striker had two years to run on his existing deal, but, having scored 20 goals in 57 games since moving from Coventry two years ago, Newcastle have tied the 23-year-old to a long-term deal and raised his wages from £15,000 to £35,000-a-week.

Newcastle have cut their ties with the Spaniard Marcelino, who made only 22 appearances in three and a half years, paying up the final five months of his contract.

The 31-year-old, whose last match was at Charlton in February 2001, was signed for £5.8 million by Ruud Gullit in July 1999 and cost the club £263,636 a game in terms of his fee, plus his lucrative salary package.

Liverpool are to offer a new deal to their 20-year-old forward Neil Mellor, who scored his first senior goal at Sheffield United on Wednesday. The academy graduate has 18 months to run on his current deal. "He's surprised me," said the manager Gerard Houllier.

"Neil was not a player I was really counting on, but he's been scoring for fun in the reserves and his progress has been sky high."

Coventry have completed the signing of Dundee's striker Juan Sara on a six-month loan.