Toon target Matuidi prefers PSG
Posted on July 11th, 2011 | 7 Comments |
Newcastle has been ‘linked’ with a move for Blaise Matuidi for most of the summer but in a recent interview he seems to be expressing a desire to remain in France. Matuidi said:
“I have a contract with St Etienne and so I was prepared to return for pre-season. Having played well doesn’t guarantee a move.
“My wishes haven’t changed, but there are things I can’t control. I’m a St Etienne player, but what is true today may not be true tomorrow.
“PSG are an attractive club, although other clubs could be attractive too.”
Very diplomatic and all bets hedged there by Blaise.
Apparently there’s a €15m buy out clause in his contract, which I would think is a bit rich for Toon finances and, although Liverpool and Arsenal are also supposedly interested in the player, it seems there have been no actual bids made for him yet.
Matuidi had this to say about the buy-out clause:
“That’s something that’s out of my control. The bosses are in charge here. I respect their wishes and I hope they’ll respect mine. For now I’m working on having a good start to the season, and that may be at St Etienne.”
Can’t see him moving to Newcastle myself and I tend to think our next midfielder – should we get one at all – is more likely to come in the shape of Nottingham Forest’s Lewis McGugan, who we have allegedly already bid £1.5m for.
I suppose there’s also a chance it could be Bayer Leverkusen’s Tranquillo Barnetta but, whilst I would guess he’s more likely to come here than Matuidi, I have my doubts about that too.
Personally, I’m more keen to get an additional striker signed up at the moment.
Incidentally, on a completely unrelated (but true) note, I was recently reading about a biologist called Lyall Watson who, with another onlooker, went to observe an Indonesian shaman woman. Apparently this woman could, by performing a ritual dance, make an entire grove of trees instantly vanish into thin air and then make them appear again at will. Fair enough, but is that the most useless superpower ever? I can’t see the X-Men hiring her to fight crime on the basis that she can make a grove of trees in Indonesia disappear.
NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen
I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10).
Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.
this is a none story.
15 million euros, he was never really a target.
try harder next time mr author.