New left-back?Newcastle United are allegedly set to take Swansea’s Neil Taylor via a £1m buy-out clause in his contract.
Allegedly (and don’t you just love it when I start an article with that) we have no less than ‘swooped’ over to Welsh Wales and are about to complete the signing of newly promoted Swansea’s Neil Taylor.
I can’t personally be having with this. Forget the speculative aspect of this for a moment, but we simply can’t employ any more Taylors. We already have Saylor and Raylor – do we really want a Naylor too?
Anyway, the 22 year-old is listed as a left-back or left-sided midfielder and has spent his senior career at Wrexham and Swansea after leaving the Manchester City youth programme at 15. Being a Taff, he has also figured in the Wales youth squad a few times and has now stepped up to senior level with 3 caps to his name. (more…)
Another Barton replacement?Newcastle United seem to be speculating in France in terms of transfer targets with the latest one allegedly being Ryad Boudebouz.
The latest on the rumour-mill is that we’re interested in Ryad Boudebouz who I will confess to never having heard of before. He’s a midfielder who currently plays for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard in France’s Ligue 1.
He has 7 full caps for Algeria, switching his allegiance to them after playing his youth internationals for France. He’s 21 years-old, 5ft 9in high and has scored 14 goals in 94 appearances for Sochaux, but was particularly good this season with 8 goals and 7 assists in 38 games.
Allegedly Graham Carr has been lining Boudebouz up as a potential replacement for Joey Barton on the right of midfield.
The player has also attracted interest from Saint-Etienne, Lyons and Liverpool, but the French press speculates that Marseilles lead the chase with the club’s Sporting Director Jose Anigo supposedly due to meet the player very soon. (more…)
Alternative to Gameiro?Newcastle United look unlikely to sign Kevin Gameiro now, although he is coming to the North East next week. The club have allegedly turned their attention to Shane Long as a backup if a deal for Gameiro falls through.
It seems that Newcastle have not given up Kevin Gameiro yet, despite the player having said that Valencia and Paris Saint-Germain are his preferred choices.
Newcastle have already had a £10m bid for Gameiro ‘accepted’ by Lorient and it’s now up to the player to decide where his future lies. Valencia have no been able to match our bid and are prepared to wait, hoping that the player’s own preferences will eventually make him choose Spain.
Meanwhile, the Qatar Investment Authority bought 70% of PSG last week and are now said to be well-funded, although I’m not sure if they’ve made an actual bid for Gameiro yet.
Nevertheless, Gameiro is supposedly coming to Tyneside at the end of next week when Pardew and Llambias will work him over and try and persuade him to join the Toon, although it’s probably fair to say that it’s looking unlikely. (more…)
3rd kitNewcastle United’s third strip for the 2011-2012 season is quite stylish in my opinion.
I think the Toon’s third kit looks quite nice (left, modelled by Shola), but then again I’m a fan of black (and black is the new black, as they say).
It’s much nicer than the second kit in my opinion.
I will admit that fashion isn’t my bag though. I’ve been a jeans and t-shirt (plain t-shirts, obviously) man for most of my life and that’s unlikely to change. I will admit to brief periods of the New Romantic and Miami Vice looks in the early 80’s and of course the 70’s were just ludicrous, but I’ve always gravitated back to a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt.
Although I do have a fondness for hats.
Just a bit of ‘blog maintenance news too. We will be offline for about 20 minutes at some point between 10PM and midnight tonight to replace a dodgy memory stick that’s caused a few problems over the last few days. I’m also taking this opportunity to add some more memory into the box, so the ‘blog should be even faster in future.
Apologies for the inconvenience.
I hope you all have a great weekend. It’s looking like barbecue weather down here in sunny Somerset.
Barton replacement?Newcastle United allegedly pursue David ‘Junior’ Hoilett with a new bid whilst the Zog still remains a target.
The rumour from the Metro is that Newcastle are determined to secure the services of Blackburn’s David ‘Junior’ Hoilett.
The 5ft 8in 20 year-old can either play as a striker or on the right wing and has scored 7 goals in 55 games for Blackburn where he has spent all his senior career.
Could Hoilett, I wonder, be Pardew’s intended replacement for Joey Barton, who has largely occupied the right wing this season despite preferring to be in the centre?
Rovers manager Steve Kean wants to hang onto the lad though, saying:
“We are hopeful. Junior is desperate to get something sorted out, he wants to stay, he is playing well and has enjoyed a good run in the team.
“I have spoken with Junior and he is now on a family holiday. I will probably go out to Canada in the next couple of weeks to speak to his dad.(more…)
