Tom to Toon to be confirmed soon?It looks like Newcastle are set to capture their second signature of the summer as a loan deal for Manchester United’s 20-year old youngster, Tom Cleverley, looks set to be announced imminently
This comes hot on the ‘eels after landing Perch from Nottingham Forest yesterday, and after such a slow start in the market things now appear to be picking up for Newcastle United.
Cleverley signed a new three year contract at Old Trafford not so long ago, so the chances of us being able to sign him on a permanent basis after his anticipated 12-month loan deal expires look to be slim, but on the other hand it does point towards the fact that the Manchester United hierachy must rate the kid enough to offer him a new deal, unless it is a new contract put in place purely to ensure that any bidding club will have to pay top dollar for the central midfielder. (more…)
Permanent move?Chris Hughton might attempt to sign Danny Simpson permanently at Newcastle United when his loan contract comes to an end in January.
Sources in Manchester have allegedly claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson has written off Simpson’s chances of making it big at Manchester United, so he may indeed be available.
Last week, Derek Llambias said that Hughton could sign players for “£1m-or-so, if it was on the right player, who preferably would be under the age of 23” but whether or not Ferguson would accept £1m for him is another matter. Also, Newcastle may not be the only club interested in signing Simpson, which could force the price up beyond what Ashley’s willing to pay.
Hughton has been impressed with the 22 year old though, particularly with his versatility and willingness to play in any position as necessary to plug the gaps in a thin squad. (more…)
Oooh you devil!Nicely timed to contradict my previous article, comes news of our first signing. Take a bow Manchester United’s Danny Simpson, who we have taken on loan until January. The 22 year old has joined us in time to make the sqaud for our game against Reading and could and takes shirt No 12.
Simpson follows the recent path of Guiseppe Rossi who had a relatively unsuccessful spell on loan up here, mainly due to lack of opportunities. Having had a number of loans spells, notably at the new home of our old pal Big Sam at Blackburn Rovers, unfortunately he also sullied his reputation by turning out for the unwashed in 2007.
Having played over 50 first team games so far, he seems like a reasonable talent although as ever with Fergie’s fringe players, if he was good enough he’d have probably made it by now. Perhaps he’ll find his level in The Championship and do a job for us. (more…)
Owen - Can't stop smiling now.As you all probably know, Michael Owen passed his medical and signed for Manchester United yesterday in a surprising swoop by puce faced supremo, Alex Ferguson. After a season in Toon hell, rejection by Don Fabio, and sly putdowns from the likes of Dave Whelan, and not forgetting of course much scorn for an alleged poor attitude in times of need from a significant proportion of the NUFC fanbase; the pint sized assassin must have thought “back of the net!” when he heard a recognisable Govan brogue on the end of his receiver. The result is apparently a two year, performance related deal at Old Trafford.
Ferguson said on signing the hitman; “Michael is a world-class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level”.
After a very busy day completing the formalities of signing for the North West titan, Owen describes what happened in an exclusive interview with MUTV’s Mandy Henry. Here’s the transcript.
How does it feel to have signed for Manchester United?
“It feels great. I never even had it in my wildest dreams really but then I got the call from the manager to come and meet him. It was a shock but I’m obviously really happy and things have moved quickly since then.”(more…)