Eff off says Ranger to BlackpoolNewcastle United hard man Nile Ranger fails to agree personal terms with Blackpool, Ameobi struggles with contract renewal and Routledge looks most likely to be heading for Leicester City.
It seems my article from yesterday about Nile Ranger‘s move to Blackpool was a bit premature. The £1.5m that Blackpool offered us was accepted by the club but then Ranger failed to agree personal terms with Blackpool.
A few options still remain though. Ranger could find himself loaned to Blackpool, which was the preference of some of the readers who commented on yesterday’s article anyway, or he could find himself going to Reading in some sort of part-exchange deal for Shane Long, who we’re allegedly very interested in.
Leon Best was originally thought to be the striker who would be offered as part of that deal, so I guess it could be either of them or both of them.
Assuming we are actually after Shane Long that is – it’s still just speculation. Shane Long is said to be valued at £10m, although I think that’s a bit high even considering his 1 in 2 strike rate for last season. (more…)
Prefers PSG ... diplomaticallyAlleged Newcastle United target Blaise Matuidi prefers a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
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. (more…)
Tangerine dreamNewcastle United’s Nile Ranger is allegedly set to complete a transfer to Blackpool today.
Although I can not yet find any official confirmation of any deal, the news comes from Click Lancashire who, as far as I can gather, aren’t usually in the business of rumour-mongering like some of the national press.
Ranger’s exit has certainly been on the cards this transfer window anyway after the player was declared ‘surplus to requirements’ at Newcastle, and Blackpool sounds like the sort of team who would be interested in him.
Maybe Ian Holloway can get the best out of the player for the Tangerines.
Ranger definitely has some talent but at Newcastle it was often overshadowed by problems with his discipline and he was regularly fined for turning up late to practise. I can’t imagine his gun-toting photograph helped matters, although I doubt that was singularly responsible for Newcastle’s decision to transfer-list him.
Details of the transfer agreement are not yet available (assuming it’s true of course, which I am) but I would imagine he would cost Blackpool something in the region of £1m-£2m. (more…)
Part of Plan C?Newcastle United need another striker and, with Nicklas Bendtner allegedly looking for an exit from Arsenal, the inevitable two plus two has been added to create a possible five.
Don’t you just love a good rumour? No? Well please yourselves.
One that’s bubbling for those with their eye in the triangle is about a possible move to Newcastle for Nicklas Bendtner. The rumour is fuelled by three main things.
The first thing is that Nicklas Bendtner – along with goalkeeper Manuel Almunia – has been left out of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia. The second thing that stoked the speculative fires is that, with the impending arrival of Gervinho, Bendtner may find himself further down the pecking order of strikers. The third thing is that Arsenal are allegedly interested in Joey Barton (and possibly even Enrique) and some sort of swap deal may be struck between the two clubs.
There was a rumour that we asked Arsenal if we could loan the player back in January after the eleventh hour sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool but apparently they turned us down. There have also been other rumours about our interest in the player but they’ve never really gained much momentum. (more…)
