The right Magpies this time?Sol Campbell fancies a move to Newcastle United but may be too costly for Hughton. However Matthew Kilgallon looks like a more affordable target.
Campbell is currently trying to sort out the ramifications of getting out of his ill-fated contract at Notts County, but he found time recently to go public about his interest in joining Newcastle United. Campbell said:
“I have been approached by several clubs and, yes, it is correct to say that Newcastle United are one of them.
“People might be surprised to hear me say that I would be very interested in a move there, but I have my reasons.
“Newcastle are a big club and could be heading back to the Premier League. It appeals. If we can sort it all out at the tribunal I would hope to be playing within weeks from now.
“I’m training every day with Arsenal, feel fit, as fit as ever, and now I really need some matches. But to sort out the mess at Notts County, a Football League tribunal seems to be the only way out.” (more…)
Toon by tomorrowMartin O’Neill has confirmed that Newcastle are set to take Marlon Harewood on a 3-month ’emergency’ loan. The move should be completed by Friday.
O’Neill said:
“Newcastle are still looking to do something in terms of Marlon.
“I think they are waiting to hear whether they have permission from their owner to go and progress the move.
“I think the opportunity for him now coming back from injury, to get involved in a cause, would be very important and only a benefit for all of us.
“Marlon has been out since pre-season with injuries. He is fighting back, is feeling fine, trained for a few days on the trot.
“But people are pressing for places and at this moment we have competition up front. Delfouneso is going to be a really excellent player and he is hovering around in terms of being on the bench.” (more…)
All things ToonIn the absence of my esteemed ‘news round-up’ colleague, here’s a briefing of some of today’s newsworthy pieces concerning our dearest club. And a low-key announcement that the ‘news round-up’ is no more (sorry MT).
First and foremost, our old favourite the ‘sale saga’ and as documented by workyticket in amused fashion last night, we’re hearing a little more about Geoff Sheard’s latest involvement. Sheard has now clearly stated that he is only acting as the middle man in the proposed new bid for ownership of the club.
He is allegedly acting on behalf of a multi-billion pound New-York-based company, who are seeking to push through a deal before the end of Big Mike’s self-imposed one-week deadline. The Chronicle suggest the consortium is led by someone with big links in US Sports and that the group will aim to deploy Omnicom Group to rebrand us globally.
Speaking to The Chronicle, Sheard had this to say: (more…)
Spain beckons perhapsJose Enrique could be the next big name to leave Newcastle United according to The Mirror.
Apparently Atletico Madrid are hoping to table a £3m million bid for the defender we signed from Villarreal two years ago for £6.3m.
Enrique has also apparently piqued the interest of Real Zaragosa but only as part of a loan deal. This may not suit Newcastle at the moment because the temporary wage cuts associated with loan deals might not stack up in a long-term cost-cutting exercise.
I’m not sure exactly what wage Enrique gets but I would imagine it’s in the £50,000/week area, which would fit the profile of the sort of player we’re looking to offload. Left backs, however, always seem to be difficult to recruit so the loss of Enrique could leave us very exposed in that area.
It would be doubly annoying given how well Enrique and Jonas seem to be working together on the left for Newcastle at the moment. (more…)
Not leaving, says HughtonThe takeover farce is, as usual, suffering from conflicting press opinions.
First we hear from newspapers like The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Journal that Ashley arrived at the training ground in his gunship to join Llambias and Moat in takeover talks. Then The Chronicle comes along and says Ashley isn’t there for takeover talks at all but is merely dealing with some ‘routine paperwork’. The Chronicle’s ‘United source’ said:
“It is nothing to get excited about, it was a routine visit, Mike was here to sign some paperwork relating to Damien Duff’s transfer and the launch of the third kit.
“It is not the first time he has been at the training ground recently, and it won’t be the last.”
And Chris Hughton said of the visit:
“He came in, wished everyone the best for the Sheffield Wednesday game, and just wanted to tell people he wouldn’t be at the match.”
So make of that what you will. I am however going to speculate. I think the reports about the takeover being sorted out by the end of this week are probably true. I would imagine that Ashley, if he stays, or any new owner would want at least a week to deal on the transfer market and I think if Ashley feels the bids are going nowhere by the end of this week he’ll pull the plug on the sale. So I’m thinking we’ll hear one way or the other by Monday at the latest. (more…)
