Wants to join us ... allegedlyNewcastle United appear to have resolved little in the last week. Still no Neil Taylor, Enrique is in contract talks, Mevlüt Erdinç is looking like a no-go, Shane Long said to be the latest target and Llambias confuses at least one Toon fan.
Alreet Geordies, hope you’ve been well while I’ve been holidaying in the Med. I haven’t seen a single British newspaper for a week and I’m completely out of touch with what’s been going on at the club, so – although I’ve tried to catch up a bit since getting back – forgive me if I cover old ground. The only ‘news’ I saw while away was about someone getting married in Monaco, which hardly had me moist with excitement.
One thing I thought might have been completed in my week’s absence is the signing of Neil Taylor, but I note that’s still dragging on. Swansea Chairman Huw Jenkins said:
“Neil has a contract and he is our player for another two years. The question is not whether he will stay with us, it is whether things will go the other way. We will find out the answer to that in the next few weeks.”
However an ‘insider close to Naylor’ apparently said:
“Neil is due back on Monday for pre-season training, but whether he turns up remains to be seen. He still isn’t happy about the situation and is obviously keen to join Newcastle United.” (more…)
Too expensive maybe?Allegedly Daniel Sturridge is not on Pardew’s shopping list of players he’d like to bring to St James’ Park and Mevlüt Erdinç may be on his way to Lille.
Speculation and a hell of a lot of wishful thinking from fans has had us linked with the possible transfer of Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge for a while now.
But whilst Alan Pardew sees it as a priority to recruit another striker, it seems that Sturridge won’t be that man. Lee Ryder (ahem) in The Chronicle reports that a Newcastle ‘source’ has said:
“The manager is looking into other players, so it is unlikely Sturridge will be coming to Newcastle.”
As per usual, said ‘source’ could be anybody. Or indeed nobody.
The 21 year-old striker has 23 goals for 85 appearances in his career and an impressive 8 in 12 whilst he was on loan to Bolton Wanderers last season. (more…)
Either/Or???Newcastle United are still allegedly hoping to sign Neil Taylor from Swansea, with Darron Gibson supposedly being an alternative target if we don’t get Taylor.
Apparently we haven’t given up on trying to sign Neil Taylor from Swansea City despite having our £1m bid rejected.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins – who has previously claimed Taylor is worth £10m – formally turned down Newcastle’s bid on Monday evening, saying:
“We recognise Neil as a young, talented Welsh player that has an important role to play at this club. We brought him here from Wrexham and have helped nurture his development.
“He adjusted very well to the Championship last season and we look forward to seeing him play a big role as we enter the Premier League. That is why we have rejected Newcastle’s bid. I spoke to Neil’s agent and he understands the situation.(more…)
Still no contractJose Enrique is to return to pre-season training at Newcastle United despite not yet having signed a new contract and the club allegedly deny any interest in Moussa Sissoko.
The situation with Jose Enrique continues to drag on. He has not signed a new contract with Newcastle and we understand that various teams are interested in him, yet he’s due to return to the club for pre-season training on Monday.
Assistant Manager John Carver said:
“As far as we are aware, Jose will be back on Monday – I have been told nothing to the reverse – and Jose will be getting a warm welcome like he always does.
“I know he will give us 100%, like he always does, and he wouldn’t dream of letting anybody down. As far as I know, everybody will be back, including Jose and Joey Barton, and it will be great to see them again.
“They are all still under contract and will be ready to start preparing for the new season with Newcastle United.” (more…)
Are we interested?Newcastle United continue pursuing Mevlüt Erdinç with a £6.94m bid and the Mackems are allegedly about the ‘pip’ us to Shane Long.
According to the French press, our current bid for Mevlüt Erdinç stands at €7.75m (£6.94m) but it is reported that Rennes has now also entered the race to sign the French-born Turkish striker. Rennes have been on the lookout for a striker since Moussa Sow left for Lille last year.
The French press says that the €11m PSG are asking for Erdinç is likely to price Rennes out of things, but they might be able to match the €7.75m we’ve asked and provide Erdinç with an option to remain in Ligue 1.
Galatasaray and Lille are also said to be interested in the player although, from what I can gather, those clubs are less likely destinations for Erdinç.
Given how much more careful the French press seems to be than ours about separating conjecture from fact, I’m inclined to believe that we have indeed bid £6.94m for the player and are most certainly in hot pursuit of him. (more…)
