Loan target VaughanWe’re somewhat bereft of strikers at the moment with Ameobi definitely out due to a foot injury and question marks over the fitness of both Carroll and Xisco.
The Mirror is reporting that Hughton has asked Everton if he can have James Vaughan on loan to plug the gaps. Vaughan is Everton’s youngest ever goalscorer but has been fairly injury-hit himself. He’s fit now but has found himself warming the bench a lot and is apparently keen to see some first team football somewhere.
The Mirror says that Moyes will think about it and give Hughton an answer over the weekend but it also says that Hughton has other targets too.
An unlikely story That’s what The Daily Star claims anyway.
Basically what they’re saying is that Moat can’t get the money together to buy the club but Ashley plans to take the club off the market and appoint him as chairman. Moat will then apparently appoint Shearer as manager and take charge of the day-to-day running of the club with Ashley taking a back seat.
The Star then goes on to say that Shearer plans to bring £6m rated Michael Chopra back to the Toon as his first signing.
And all this will happen within the next 48 hours.
The Star’s short article contains no direct quotes from anyone, not even from unnamed ‘sources’ or ‘insiders’, so the temptation is to treat the story with as much scorn as the one about Naughty Noirin’s views on how to save Big Brother (not that I’ve read it of course). (more…)
Bale - possible loan target? Apparently Gary Megson wants to take Kevin Nolan back to Bolton, or at least that’s what The Mirror is saying. We paid Bolton £4m for the midfielder in January and his £40k/week wages might be seen as reason enough to let him go in the current phase of cost-cutting at the Toon.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with Nolan’s contributions to the team last season but this season he looks much better, although I admit that’s probably to be expected now that we’re down a league. Nolan has even scored a couple this season, including the winning goal in last night’s 4-3 romp against Huddersfield (for which we have match reports here and here).
It’s not all bad news though because the BBC claimed last night that Gareth Bale could be on his way to Newcastle from Spurs. When we sold them Bassong it was rumoured that one or two loan signings from Spurs were on the cards and this could be one of them.
The Welsh under-21 international made his professional debut for Southampton in 2005-06 and scored 5 goals in 45 games before transferring to Spurs in May 2007. Bale usually plays as either a left back or left winger, so he could be seen as a replacement for either Enrique or Jonas if either should be sold this season. (more…)
The bank that might like to say noMuch speculation has ensued after yesterday’s announcement that the club is giving Barry Moat more time to negotiate an overdraft facility with Barclays Bank.
Our favourite mackem Louise Taylor demonstrates surprising knowledge of the club’s confidential banking details, which form the crux of her latest article in The Guardian.
According to Ms Taylor and her inevitable ‘sources’, we have a £40m overdraft facility, on which we currently owe £20m. On Tuesday Barclays were planning to renew that facility but with only a £10m limit, which is in line with what they usually allow for Championship clubs.
Apparently Ashley has the funds to cover the £10m shortfall but – The Guardian claims – Moat does not and if he can’t persuade Barclays to break with their Championship-lending policies and allow him to have a £20m overdraft, then his takeover effort will fail. (more…)
Spain beckons perhapsJose Enrique could be the next big name to leave Newcastle United according to The Mirror.
Apparently Atletico Madrid are hoping to table a £3m million bid for the defender we signed from Villarreal two years ago for £6.3m.
Enrique has also apparently piqued the interest of Real Zaragosa but only as part of a loan deal. This may not suit Newcastle at the moment because the temporary wage cuts associated with loan deals might not stack up in a long-term cost-cutting exercise.
I’m not sure exactly what wage Enrique gets but I would imagine it’s in the £50,000/week area, which would fit the profile of the sort of player we’re looking to offload. Left backs, however, always seem to be difficult to recruit so the loss of Enrique could leave us very exposed in that area.
It would be doubly annoying given how well Enrique and Jonas seem to be working together on the left for Newcastle at the moment. (more…)
