It appears to be a busy day on Tyneside as far as transfer gossip is concerned, four names being linked with the club in today’s papers. Makes a pleasant change that I’m not writing about the general misdemeanours and turmoil at least.
First up is the news that allegedly the Pablo Aimar deal is done. I covered this a few days ago, not a lot to add other than I never celebrate a new signing until I see them hold the shirt up(and even then I’ve not jumped for joy on a few occassions, channelling Joey Barton).
Secondly, Hamburg’s Nigel De Jong is being lined up by Special K. The versatile Dutch midfielder will cost £3m. What? Another established international star? Surely not. Well…apparently so. Has Dennis Wise died? Or has Keegan finally thrown his weight around in the boardroom? Who knows. Keegan’s obviously looking here to plug the gaps, Newcastle don’t have too many utility players so perhaps having someone who you can call on to fill in here and there, for a bargain price, may prove to be smart thinking.
Emiliano Insua is next. Left back, 19 years old, from Liverpool. What d’you mean you’ve never heard of him? Oh wait, that’s right, he was just another Benitez panic buy. Well, we may be able to take him off the Spaniard’s hands, if he needs to sell to buy, ie. Gareth Barry, Insua may well pull on the black and white next season. We could do with a left back also, with Jose Enrique not failing, but not setting the world alight, and Charles N’Zogbia’s future in the balance(he’s a winger Kev, don’t play him at left back, please). Interesting.
And finally, the one that appears to have got away. Anton Ferdinand. The last Ferdinand to play for Newcastle was one of their most succesful strikers of all time. It appears Anton won’t be trying to continue that legacy, The Independant reporting the West Ham defender has backed out of negotiations. Pffft.
That concludes this mini-round up. With pre-season friendlies looming, it’s refreshing to see a Newcastle manager who has a carefully thought out transfer policy and hopefully won’t end up spending £9 million on Jean Alain Boumsong. Until next time, thanks for reading.
