News today that Norwich have signed Holland international Leroy Fer from FC Twente for around £4M, on a four year deal, and that’s another good player the East Anglia club have signed, who was a potential Newcastle target.
Leroy Fer – signs for Norwich on four year deal
Chris Hughton snapped up Ricky van Wolfswinkel in April, and the Dutch striker had been on Newcastle’s radar screen for a number of years.
And in retrospect Ricky would have been a decent signing at £8.5M from Sporting Lisbon, given that Newcastle have missed out on both Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng, who decided to join Borussia Dortmund, and Wilfried Bony who went to Swansea for £12M.
Fer is only 23, and was very close to signing for Everton in the January transfer window, but that move collapsed when Everton were not willing to pay the fee demanded by FC Twente.
But Norwich are building up their squad nicely, and have now brought in six players this summer – Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Javier Garrido, Nathan Redmond, Martin Olsson and Carlo Nash also joining this window in addition to Fer.
We had hoped Newcastle may have been interested in Redmond, the 19 year-old England U21 winger who played for Birmingham, since he seems to be a good player already.
Leroy Fer stands 6’2″ tall and is a central midfielder who has played for all the Dutch Youth sides, and twice at the senior level for his country, and we;ve been linked with him for a year, with Graham Carr said to be watching him in Holland.
It’s fair to say that Newcastle have not been over aggressive in our pursuit of our transfer targets this summer, although we did sign five good Frenchmen in January.
We have certainly not been as aggressive as some of the other clubs in the Premier League – like Norwich City, West Ham, Swansea and Sunderland – who have signed seven players so far this summer.
Hopefully Joe Kinnear will break his duck this week, and he returns from holiday to Newcastle tomorrow.
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37 comments so far
Jail for Ashley
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Comment #1Being repeatedly run over by a steam roller is too good for Ashley.
toonarmydownsouth
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:33 AM
Comment #2Hoots has carrs little black book!!!!
cyprus
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:33 AM
Comment #3So, if AP says he needs strikers JK will go after backs. Well AP, simple what you should do isn’t it?
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:33 AM
Comment #4being shot in the nadds with a taser is to good for ashley
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:37 AM
Comment #5by the time we go shopping the goods will be customer returns or hugely inflated average gear like ikea
Ben3arfa
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:39 AM
Comment #6Was Fer even a target?
croftus5678
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:39 AM
Comment #7erm…all these supposedly nufc targets…was prob just paper talk and never actual targets otherwise we would have bid for half the players every other club was after also.
papers hate jk so its just going to wind us up over everything while he’s here ! (i.e. i expect cisse’s refusal to wear wonga shirt is just made up to cause a stir as i’m sure i read ages ago he said he was ok with it)
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:43 AM
Comment #8do we have any targets
Ian Toon
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:44 AM
Comment #9Good morning JFA
Engaging with TDS and others that take the football out of football- the linguistic acrobats – is too good for Ashley.
croftus5678
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:45 AM
Comment #10@8 jt
yep if remy and bent sign for other clubs then we need to be worried……..hmm >.<
toonarmydownsouth
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:47 AM
Comment #11Croftus
Fer was a target back when we were in the championship!
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:47 AM
Comment #12bent has signed for someone else………
his new wife on the dotted line
NEWEXPATMAGPIE
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:52 AM
Comment #13Already read this story on Teletext here this morning !
Norwich have been extremely clever here making two bids together, One for Alderweirld and the other for Fer, Ajax had even agreed to the Alderweirld deal for 8Mil Euro,s?
Fer has moved to Norwich on a 4year contract for 4Mil Euro,s!
Makes me want to Weep ! What the bollocks is going on?
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:54 AM
Comment #14we will be signing has beens, shop soiled,andpossibly none at all
Spotlight Kid
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Comment #15Ed, write out 100 times:
‘A list of wishes is not a list of genuine targets’
Great to see Hoots cracking on in the way we all know he would have up here, if not for for our cretinous owner’s preference for appointing Dodos and other extinct species.
NEWEXPATMAGPIE
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Comment #16Oh and there was Media story,s about Fer a while back !
There was also a story that we might / could / would be interested ?
But Twente were playing hard-ball with Douglas so nothing came of it!
Indian Magpie
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Comment #172 days before the first pre season friendly and we have not signed anyone. wow!
woodsee
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Comment #18Ashley has repeatedly treat the Geordie nation like dog shit on the bottom of hes dodgy trainers.Nothing we have done has made a jot of difference.
How can Fulham be taken over so smoothly all be it to Manuel from fawlty towers,we hear now cisse is training on hes own,jokin ere is on holiday at the most important time,by the time he gets back,the sweet shop will be empty.
Anyway to go on about everything that’s happened at our club since Ashley arrived would take forever.
I go to a lot of games but I honestly think the best thing,or indeed the only thing left,and I don’t say this lightly is full house first home game,probably after getting hammered off city,wait till the ref blows for kick off then get up and walk out,leavin the away fans,the press and bemused hierarchy at last realising enough is enough and they can no longer take for granted our support until things change
Indian Magpie
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:57 AM
Comment #19Mike ashley deserves every bit of criticism that he gets and more
Dennis wise, JFK (2)
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:57 AM
Comment #20to me it looks like late business god help us if those purples go late on
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:58 AM
Comment #21swallowing red hot molten lead is too good for Ashley
colwell
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:59 AM
Comment #22Good to see our rivals who still finished above us strengthening so well, will just make it harder once the season starts.
Spuggy
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:59 AM
Comment #23Striker, goal scoring winger/striker and commanding CB is what is needed.
If you don’t think we need a CB we are deluded. The defence fell apart without colo who is older and more injury prone.
Laurent Robert 32
Jul 14, 2013 at 9:59 AM
Comment #24CH is definitely snapping up the Carr scouted players in my opinion. Far too much of a coincidence.
Whilst we still wait.
Those two mega posts by downunder a couple of days ago were spot on and exactly what posters like myself have been saying for ages.
The underlying philosophy and set up of the team is what will turn the average players into good players or good players to unerperforming players.
Don’t even get me started on the frankly woeful words of Mr. Clueless, our heroic battler of a manager who is reinforces a mediocre status to make it look like he is closer to achieving his fantastic goals. Oh the brave Pardew.
Prat.
Indian Magpie
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Comment #25Just reiterating
Now the like of WBA, Sunderland, Norwich Aston Villa, Fulham, Swansea are all equal or ahead of us.
While we are pissing in the wind!
toonarmydownsouth
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:01 AM
Comment #26Indian
Also makes you laugh that were 2 days off our first pre season whilst other teams have played 1,2 or even 3 games already!
Christ were even behind on pre season training! Lol
Charlie in the Gallowgate
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Comment #27We’re not going to sign anyone got our summer quota in the winter.
If we do then the likes Cabaye or Krul will be shipped out before we sign
John Tudor
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Comment #28or are the highly paid players saying we don’t anymore players into help.the would just drink more of the christmas beer fund
Indian Magpie
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:03 AM
Comment #29I think JFK has been hired specifically to Save Mike Ashley cool 60 million or so that he will get.
Spuggy
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:03 AM
Comment #30Why did we never try tiote and sissoko in CM and Cabaye in the hole?
Spotlight Kid
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:04 AM
Comment #31Indian@17
Not forgetting that our main striker has now been isolated from team mates in training, allegedly. A move that’s really going to help camaraderie and mutual on-pitch understanding as well. He already wanders off on his own too much as it is.
Mmmm, are we witnessing the CURSE of Wonga, or are Ashley’s half-assed ownership chickens coming home to roost at last?
faustino asprilla newcastle
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:05 AM
Comment #32this is just, like, not to believe. No summer activity at market at all, very dissapointing for fans who expects some new, fresh players, new blood
Spotlight Kid
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:07 AM
Comment #33JFA@1
It wouldn’t do the steam roller that much good either.
croftus5678
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:10 AM
Comment #34@11 tds
ah ty m8 so all these links look to be old rumours for players we’ve been looking at in the past 1
@12 jt
thats the worst club he will ever sign for 🙂 bet he wishes he’s signed for sunderland instead !….oh wait he did didnt he lol
The puppy formerly known as prince
Jul 14, 2013 at 10:19 AM
Comment #35Ashley does deserve criticism and plenty of it, the lack of understanding towards the supporters and their criticism of him must surely point to the fact he does not have the same caliber of advisers in the footballing world as he does in the business world. The appointment of JK just appoints to his insecurity in the running of the club I do believe he wants to be successful (on a budget ) but has been surrounded by muppets. Unfortunately he let Lambias do all the financial deals and he is now lumbered with contracts he can’t realistically get out whether its sponsorship or staff. Any one who is against his running of the club are more than justified in many respects but I personally believe though we’re in poor shape, we would have been a lot worse with Shepard and Hall.
As for protests and personal against it the fans have been complaining against about how the club is being run for as long back as I can remember ( I’m struggling to remember how I got such a hangover, must have caught a virus on the way home from the pub)! but we have always supported the club through thick and thin, filled St James’ Park and cheered away, nothing has changed. I’m not saying it’s wrong but if you really want change you can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results, the only way Ashley listens is financial – protests are good but they don’t affect him! I personally believe boycotting matches is the way ahead, people go on about supporting the players but the club is bigger than the players and if you feel the future of the club is worth the sacrifice is necessary then boycott. Though I really believe in what I have said I also believe that the current regime should be given until the end of the transfer window before being judged.
lesh
Jul 14, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Comment #36toonarmydownsouth @2
May I venture to suggest that Hughton may have done more than sign Redmond, Vaw and Fer having followed up press reports linking us with them.
But nevertheless, the Norwich board have backed him in strengthening its squad and this will be Hughton’s make or break season.
Now then and this appears to be most posters’ worry is why have we not got our targets in for the start of pre-season preparations. It’s fundamental that the longer I comers are with their new team-mates, the better they’ll understand ones other.
One reason may be that our DoF, the one responsible for assessing the squad and identifying and adressing needs, is on holiday.
That, I find astonishing and were I Ashley, I’d have questioned Kinnear’s priorities – a holiday or the business?
It beggars belief, a newly appointed director doesn’t appear to have put a full week in in four he’s been with the club!
It’s.just incredible that he hasn’t yet met the squad and I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping he’s got some quality players signed up for unveiling next week!
workyticket
Jul 14, 2013 at 1:58 PM
Comment #37lesh // Jul 14, 2013 at 12:37 PM
“May I venture to suggest that Hughton may have done more than sign Redmond, Vaw and Fer having followed up press reports linking us with them.”
Lesh, if it wasn’t for Hughton there’d have been no Graham Carr at Newcastle anyway. His latest Carr is Ewan Chester, who is another very good scout with a great knowledge of European talent. He doesn’t need to copy his old club, he has very good contacts in the game and knows what he’s doing.