How will that £35m be spent?The transfer market is a strange and sometimes scary place, with confusion abound by exactly how much money we apparently have, others have the knowledge only provided by Football Manager and FIFA and you’d be surprised how correct that actually is. The long and short is, we have never had £35m to spend – never.
There’s a lot of confusion around exactly what we have to spend since the sale of local lad and full time thug Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35m with £30 of that being handed over in cold, hard cash – just how we like it. Alan Pardew himself stated that the money was to be reinvested in the squad and even went as far as to say that he wanted it solely for players but unfortunately, that isn’t how it works.
At the start of the season, the manager and the chairman sits down and discusses season targets, contracts, incoming players, outgoing players and everything else you’d come to associate with a professional football club. (more…)
Steve Stone: Youth is the key for new signings.Newcastle United first team coach, Steve Stone, has been on the qualities required in Newcastle United’s transfer targets, emphasising that the club is looking for young players who can inject a bit of pace into the side. This is has been a quality which has been seen by some as lacking in the United squad in recent days until the transfer of recent signings such as Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux.
Speaking to the club’s official website at the annual NUFC Heroes Golf Day at Ponteland Golf Club, Stone began by saying he thought that it was great that Newcastle United had hit the ground running as the club’s transfer season got underway with the signing of players such as Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and Sylavain Marveaux, as well as youngster, Mehdi Abeid. Getting in with some early signings is, once again, something that some have criticised the club as failing to do in recent windows. On this, Stone said:
“I think it’s great that we’ve made some moves in the transfer market, I think it’s important that you do it quite early and that’s what we’ve done.(more…)
Mehdi Abeid in training with France U18s.Welcome to the third in my small series of ‘blogs looking at Newcastle United’s new signings in the latest transfer window. In this episode, I will be looking at free RC Lens youngster and French Under 18 international, Mehdi Abeid.
Much attention has being focused on the last three Newcastle United signings, Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and Sylvain Marveaux. However Newcastle United first signing of the close season, 18 year old Mehdi Abeid, has been somewhat overlooked. Like the older Cabaye and Marveaux, Abeid was previously playing in the French leagues, in this case, now relegated Ligue 1 side Lens. Abeid signed a five-year deal with the Magpies on 27 May 2011, just before his existing three year contract with Lens expired at the beginning of June. On joining Newcastle United, the player said:
“The leaders of the Magpies told me about their project and rely on me for next season. For my part, I intend to give everything to evolve in the Premier League.”(more…)
How do you think we'll do in the this transfer window?Well, it’s that time again, when thoughts turn from matters on the pitch, to gossip and speculation on who might be joining, and leaving, the club.
So far, there has been much speculation on whether major players such as Joey Barton and Jose Enrique will renew their vows for several more years, or even leave for pastures new. On the other hand, the club have already made one new signing in the shape of French-Tunisian youngster, Mehdi Abeid, and Shane Ferguson has just signed a new five year deal at the club. Meanwhile, manager, Alan Pardew, has claimed to have several irons in the fire regarding the aquisition of new players. On this subject, the usually reticent supremo said:
“We’ve given a player a deadline this week, so that’ll be interesting,”
“We are pitching for a striker that we bid for – that’s been reported. We’re hopeful on that but we’ll have to wait and see. There’s no real feedback from the club on that. And we’re pitching for another couple of players.(more…)
Mehdi Abeid: What's he like then?Of course, the signing of 18 year old RC. Lens starlet, Mehdi Abeid, is now a ‘done deal’ as they say, so in this piece, I will be trying to piece together as much that is known about him as I possibly can.
He is an eighteen year old right footed offensive (in the football sense!) midfielder who can, apparently, also play in a forward position. Of French Algerian descent. Abeid himself said that he he has spoken with Hatem Ben Arfa with Cheick Tiote about the club, and that they “encouraged” and “welcomed” him (more on that below).
Though he seems to be fairly highly regarded, he is almost certainly another ‘one for the future’, having gained most of his previous experience in Lens’s ‘B’ team, rather than in full competition. He does have experience with France’s Under 17 and under 18 teams though, with 14 under 17 caps (scoring 2 goals) and 3 Under 18 caps. Although his signing was only just announced offiicially earlier today, the deal had been ongoing for a while, with Abeid training with the club’s reserves last week.
In an interview on his transfer to Newcastle United, he told French football magazine, L’Equipe:(more…)
