Worth more than £4m methinksNegotiations begin between Newcastle United and Liverpool over Enrique and the Barton situation is explained further.
Allegedly negotiations have begun with Liverpool for their acquisition of Jose Enrique. Although it seems they haven’t begun very well.
Newcastle have placed a £15m price tag on the player and Liverpool’s initial offer was only £4m, so there’s a fair bit of meeting somewhere in the middle to be done before Enrique departs for Anfield.
Alan Pardew is now fully resigned to losing Enrique, saying:
“There’s no point keeping a player who has set his sights on a club he has perceived is bigger.
“You can’t keep a player that’s unmotivated.”
Which is fair enough. If a player is determined to leave there is little to be achieved by forcing him to do otherwise. (more…)
Player of the seasonJoey Barton will not be offered a new contract at Newcastle United.
It seems that the club will not be renewing the contract of Joey Barton, who was voted Player of the Season by this site (and others).
Barton’s agent Willie McKay said:
“I had a meeting with Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias and club secretary Lee Charnley and they have indicated Joey will not be offered a new contract.
“Joey will continue to be a Newcastle player next season and then he will leave on a free transfer at the end of his contract.
“Joey would have loved to have extended his stay at Newcastle, but unfortunately it is not to be.”
The last we heard was that Barton wanted a four year contract and the club were only going to offer him a two year contract. Whether or not that’s anything more than rumour is uncertain, but it would be one thing that explains why Barton and Newcastle are parting company. (more…)
The moustachio was a mistakeJoey Barton wants to pledge his future to Newcastle United, allegedly. Enrique is more of an enigma, but what about our triplet of talented keepers?
The summer will be interesting in many respects for Newcastle United, not least to see who leaves the club and who comes in. However, if the recent comments of a ‘source close to Joey’ are anything to go by, Joey Barton won’t be one of the leavers.
“Joey wants to stay at Newcastle because he is happy here.
“He may be opinionated at times, but he hasn’t forgotten what Newcastle did for him during his time at the club, and he’s got a lot of respect for all of the staff there, from the manager down.
“There has been talk that he was ready to quit the club, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“His main priority is to stay here – and always has been.
“Joey has got a great rapport with the Newcastle fans who obviously appreciate his efforts on the pitch, and he wants that relationship to continue.”
Of course a ‘source close to Joey’ could be his cat for all we know but I do tend to think that he wants to stay at Newcastle. No doubt Ashley will want to reduce his wages but if it isn’t to an insulting level then, personally, I’d expect him to be lining up in black and white next season despite alleged interest in the player from Hamburg and despite the fact the club failed to get him on a new contract in January. (more…)
