Only part of it. Got him for the full season this time, instantly a better side. Not least he will be developing rapidly and getting better all the time.
Not disputing that, just he hasn't improved the squad that finished the last season. Mainly 'cos he was already in it. Won in Ireland, Joselu started (missed a few), Gayle came on (missed a few). Honestly, it's so frustrating because if the club just signed literally two decent players with all the PL riches we're supposed to have, I'd have nothing to moan about. We surely agree we need a new striker and an attacking midfielder as a minimum.
If the club had any thoughts of expanding its fan base and improving commercial revenue I would have thought the pre-season would have been a bit more ambitious than Ireland, Hull and Spain. Now it may be that Rafa insists on a focus on fitness and match time rather than promotional stuff but I am amazed we are not going to China with our current sponsors.
That will teach you DPP. Not quite as shameful as being a friend of the real Fredor but pretty embarrassing all the same.
From BBC gossip column today looks like Bournemouth are splashing the cash and someone else isnt: Bournemouth will spend a club record £32m to sign Levante and Colombia midfielder Jefferson Lerma, 23, and a further £25m on Genoa and Uruguay full-back Diego Laxalt, 25. (Sun) Newcastle United's Spanish boss Rafael Benitez, 58, is not happy after being told he has to sell before he can strengthen his side. (Mirror) Porto are still keen on signing Newcastledefender Chancel Mbemba, 23, but are unwilling to meet the £8m asking price for the Congo international. (A Bola - in Portuguese) West Brom have rejected a loan offer from Newcastle for Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon, 28, who has a £16.5m release clause in his contract. (Express and Star)
Mitrovic is due to return from his hols' next week,so doubt if anything will be resolved until then,but there is a sub-plot to this on going saga. It appears that Fenerbahce are preparing a 13 mil bid for him with the carrot of champions league football being dangled,whether Turkish football will appeal is anybody's guess. Out of interest does CEO Charnley negotiate transfer dealings on his own initiative - or does he have to run it by Ashley for approval? Judging by the following article things could get very messy! Newcastle United Forward Wants To Leave Club For Fulham: A Good Move For All Parties? please log in to view this image Newcastle United frontman Aleksandar Mitrović is eager to leave the club this summer as he looks to gain some more first-team opportunities elsewhere. According to recent reports, the Serbian international has informed the Magpies of his desire not to play for them again and is keen on a switch to Fulham, where he had a loan spell in the second half of last season. Mitrovic has found life hard under Rafael Benitez and was left frustrated with the lack of first-team action last season. Hence, he was loaned out to the Cottagers in January where he lit up the English Championship while scoring 12 goals in 17 league matches. His outstanding contributions helped the London side seal a promotion via the playoffs. Some sources are now claiming that the Tyneside club are demanding a fee in the region of £30m for their prized asset. It is believed that the 23-year-old centre-forward has already told the Magpies that he won’t play for them if the club decides to price him out of a switch to Craven Cottage in this post-season. Recent reports have also suggested that Slaviša Jokanović’s side are not willing to pay more than £20m for the Serbian striker which is significantly below Newcastle’s asking price. Benitez’s men had a roller-coaster of a campaign last term when they managed to avoid relegation and clinch a top half finish in the English top-flight. The Spanish boss will now need to bring in some quality talents during this ongoing window if his players are to improve on their domestic performance next term. Retaining some of their top talents like Mitrovic could help them compete on all fronts in the upcoming campaign. However, it seems highly likely that Benitez has fallen out with the Serbian international which is why the Tyneside club needs to ship him out as soon as possible and bring in a suitable replacement capable of filling his shoes at St. James Park. The Magpies boss can definitely look to use the money generated from Mitrovic’s potential sale to strengthen other areas of his squad. A move out of Tyneside will help the player as well, especially after his incredible displays for Fulham during his loan spell last season. The Serbian will be able to reignite his career while the Cottagers will also benefit from having a player of his talents in their ranks, ahead of a season in the top tier of English football. Only time will tell what lies ahead in the future of Mitrovic and whether the Magpies end up letting him leave this summer.
Apparently Ashley is a notorious micro-manager at Sports Direct and with Charnley essentially a well-paid tea boy I would suspect that Ashley will have significant input. While he says he doesnt interfere in football matters selling things are where he excels. He seems to be quite happy to let things like this drag right down to the wire. Seeing as he is on a contract until July 2020 he may actually be willing to risk the sale to get the best price and send him out on loan if it falls through. If European teams are interested it may make it more difficult for Fulham as their transfer window is open longer than ours this year. I hope that has spoiled your day now!
It’s worse. Rafa has name dropped Justin ****ing Barnes. Charnley is bad enough in his own, but this dick dabbling isn’t going to help anyone.
Ah so we are only being selective about where we judge from. The reality is you look at each season in isolation. We're stronger than we were in August 2017. So the team is progressing heading into this season. We haven't finished our business so i'd imagine we will be stronger again once the window closes. If Charnley can get his finger out and shift the deadwood we can start to move. Lesson for the day. Don't employ monkeys like McClaren, let him spend all the money, sack him and then wonder why the subsequent manager is snookered a little for years to come. Its akin to letting the fox in the hen house. Or me into an all female party full of hetrosexual women who want stiffed.
I'd probably take 20m if it was on offer. Its the low end but we need to shift him. 13m is a piss take though.
No, not if he runs down his contract it isn't . Don't forget with every transfer window that passes his value will diminish - would Ashley allow him to leave on a free? Changing the subject we are linked with a full back called Mbabu - used to play for you I believe,is he any good? seems we are prepared to offer 10 mil. Good or bad deal?
He looked really good while here, not sure why we let him leave tbh! I'd take him back in a heart beat to give competition at both full backs. Seem to remember him having a blinder vs Chelsea on his debut
He’s under contract until 2020 so that isn’t a concern at this stage. We hold the cards on Mitro but we need the money to spend hence id take 20m. 13m is a derisory offer and anything like that should just be dismissed. Mbabu was a shame for quite a few fans perspective. Never let us down and looked a real talent. Rafa didn’t fancy him and let him go on a free. Then we got Manquillo who is infinitely worse. I can’t comment on how Mbabu has developed but I kinda knew he’d be back in England at some stage somewhere, probably doing a very good job.
From what I've read he's a permanent fixture in the young boys squad, fan favorite and they credit him with being a large part of why they won the title....from RB? Yeah when you consider we got Gamez, Manquillo and Lazzar in to cover fullbacks a massive **** up on our part to let him go on a free.
There's only one place to judge from, the end of the previous season. Who the hell judges it on the start of the previous season?! Not sure how you can "imagine" we'll be stronger. I can "imagine" us selling Mitrovic, Mbemba and a couple of others but actually getting nobody in to replace. Sounds insane, but it's far from the realms of impossibility.
They weren't with us or at least never played. Mbemba had a short spell at left back. We are definitely stronger. Either from the season end or the beginning. Youngish squad developing with a seasons of PL football under their belt. The likes of Kenedy, Lascelles, Perez, Murphy, Yedlin, Aarons will all have improved.
If we value Mitrovic at £30m god knows what Joselu and Gayle are worth, being ahead of him in the pecking order. £50m each?
We should probably just go ahead and ignore all 16 teams higher than us in that chart and rejoice the hope of being "top of the bottom 4". Prepare us for next season. If it goes well. #AshleyPlanA