"Fabian Delph will be moving to the Premier League, but we hope he'll be moving with us via the Championship," said Bates of the 18-year-old who has scored three goals since breaking into the first team at the start of the season.
"He signed a four-year contract until 2012 and he doesn't want to go anywhere. I'm still amazed at a recent offer Newcastle made for Fabian. I won't tell you the content of the fax we sent back but it did end the conversation."