Newcastle defender Sébastien Bassong

Sébastien Bassong is being driven away by the "madness" at Newcastle United, a source close to the Frenchman has told the local Evening Chronicle newspaper. The £10m-rated defender, voted player of the year by one fanzine, wants to leave the club, and he has been offered to a range of Premier League sides by First Artists, the agency appointed to offload all of the club's prize assets as the owner, Mike Ashley, tries to sell the club.

The source said: "Sébastien is devastated by the madness at the club and wants to go. He cost the club hardly anything and feels he has justified his transfer fee. Compared to the rest of his team-mates he has been earning peanuts, picking up £5,000 a week while some of the players who have been earning five-figure salaries and hardly kicking a ball. He loves the fans – but who can blame him for wanting to leave?"

Referring to the uncertainty at the club, with Alan Shearer still waiting to learn whether he will become the manager full-time, the source continued: "The club is unsure who will be the owners next season, there is no manager and, as much as he enjoys working with Alan Shearer, there are no guarantees that he will be the manager next season.

"Sébastien is a top-class professional, is never in any trouble and just wants to develop his career. He came to Newcastle on trial and they weren't even sure if they wanted him at first, so he has played way above their expectations."

It has also emerged that Bassong was upset by the attitude of some of his team-mates in the dressing room at Villa Park on the final day of the season. The source said: "Sébastien was suspended and gutted about having to sit in the stands. But after the game he was mortified by some of the scenes in the dressing room. He said that only three or four of the players looked genuinely upset about the club's relegation. More worryingly, while the fans were still chanting outside, some players were talking about their holidays." Meanwhile, the £10m defender Fabricio Coloccini has been offered to the French club Marseille.