Luuk de Jong is expected to have his medical at Newcastle today, after he jetted into Newcastle airport last night to sign for the Tyneside club on loan for the rest of the season – but Newcastle are also aggressively trying to sign 23 year-old Clement Grenier before Friday’s transfer deadline.
Clement Grenier – Lyon midfielder
And Alan Pardew is pushing Joe Kinnear and Secretary Lee Charnley to move in quickly for Newcastle’s top target Clement Grenier, and put in an improved all cash offer for the 23 year-old Lyon play-maker – since time is short.
Alan had mentioned last night at Carrow Road after the game, that he hoped to have good news from Joe Kinnear today – so we have to hope Lyon will accept the bid from Newcastle, which the Chronicle (Lee Ryder) is reporting this morning.
And presumably it will be an increase on the £10M bid they submitted, at least that initial bid was reported in the French press over the weekend.
Grenier has said if the club gets a decent offer for him, their President Jean-Michel Aulas has told him he will consider it, and the lad certainly seems keen to join Newcastle.
If we can get Clement Grenier and Luuk in before Friday night, that would be good, given the position we are in late in this transfer window.
What do you think?
Personal note – my wife Madeline has to have some minor surgery today, so I will be out of commission for some periods today – I hope I miss the announcement that we’ve signed both Luuk de Jong and Clement Grenier. 😀
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303 comments so far
pawl250
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:05 PM
Comment #281Kets
Liverpool are in for Konoplyanka or however you spell it. Good player but just thought I would let you know!
Lilongwe Geordie
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:05 PM
Comment #282I did notice that the club announced link ups with Montagu Boys and North Fenham Boys last week and paraded it as a positive for finding the future talent. I’m sorry, but I don’t see how they can use this as a positive. Yes, it is a good thing to have, but to only be just doing something like this is ridiculous. We should have tie ups like these already in place with ALL the top local boys clubs in the area already, and now be announcing links like this with clubs known for developing players around the world.
Man City announce deals with Thai, US and Australian, already have in Africa and we get 2 local boys clubs…. Gulf isn’t just financial or at first team level.
Transfer Sage
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:06 PM
Comment #283tekkers
No I do not.
Why can’t we sign another player to go with cabaye, instead of selling him and buying 2 others who aren’t proven in the league?
I accept we can’t go out and buy 30/40 million pound players, but surely we can keep what we have.
If we just let every player leave who wants to then we will never progress.
Look at our team now compared to when pardew came in. The first 11 (possibly 12/13) is better than when he started with us 3 years ago but the back up/squad players are equally as bad.
We are slightly progressing the first team but nothing to build a squad which can challenge.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:08 PM
Comment #284Jesper,
Yeah, just finished it last week while I was travelling back out here. An interesting read for sure. Would love to know who the secret footballer is!
AaranD
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:08 PM
Comment #285Defensive midfielders we have Tiote and Anita who complement each other very well with one being a bruiser and the other being very tidy on the ball. We then have Sissoko, Yanga and Bigi for cover which are very good options.
So I would prefer that if a transfer is to happen it would be on an attack minded midfielder like Grenier, Cabella or Siem De Jong.
Spoof
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:08 PM
Comment #286Trabzonspor are wanting Cisse on loan, although I am not Cisse’s biggest fan we would be mad to let him go, playing off a target man like De Jong may be just what Papiss needs.
Transfer Sage
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:10 PM
Comment #287Lilongwe
It’s that sort of thing that makes me doubt the ambition of the owner. It’s not that difficult or expensive to tie deals up with small clubs like that around the world, or even to have a few scouts based around different continents or countries.
We missed out on cat 1 academy status when boro and sunderland have it. Everything seems to be done on the cheap.
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:10 PM
Comment #288Lilongwe…our owner knows nothing about Football mate.
…I am not even going to start on Joke InEar and I know absolutely nothing about the others in the top.
Newcastle is not run by football people 🙁
Transfer Sage
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:13 PM
Comment #289Jesper
Look at man city, they hired technical directors from Barca to run the operations at man city and we hire people like llambias and kinnear.
You need people with the right knowledge and connections to establish links with other clubs and countries and to know what to do to reach targets.
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:14 PM
Comment #290TS…I totally agree mate 🙁
GAZ09
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:14 PM
Comment #291Looks like latest offer of 10m has been rejected for Grenier
Ciaran
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:16 PM
Comment #292Sage
Personally, I think we will perpetually be a mid-table team. Build players up, sell them on and remain where we are until such times Ashley has recouped enough of the debt owed to him that he can sell the club.
There is no plan to move forward, merely a plan to stay still.
Spoof
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:17 PM
Comment #293Gaz
where did you here that ?
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:17 PM
Comment #294“…Må alle drømme briste
uden tro, uden håb
Med et hjerte der skriger
Jeg kan ikke mere, jeg tror jeg bliver liggende her…”
*That sums up Newcastle for me at the moment 🙁
jimmysmith
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:17 PM
Comment #295I was in Trabzon recently, and while the coastline on the Black Sea and the hinterland is quite charming, unless Papisse Demba Cisse is a Ottoman and Russian history buff, he will not be going there.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:18 PM
Comment #296Jesper,
But 6 years as the owner of a football club, surely he must have learnt something!! And for all Kinnears delusions and false claims, he is a football person, just from a past era. Beardsley is meant to be close to Ashley, surely he has put a football side over to Ashley in the past 6 years. Graham Carr, an influential figure with Ashley by all accounts is a football man. Not run by football people is an excuse that the club could get away with 4 maybe 5 years ago, 3 years ago at a push, but not now for me. They know football, but maybe it just isn’t priority number 1 at the minute.
Sage,
I agree. Developing players was key to Ashley and the fact it hasn’t really happened is very disappointing. We were told Llambias had gone off to South America to create links 2or 3 years ago, but then nothing more. It is an effective strategy, and also allows young players to go the other way to get experience. Half of Man U’s youngsters used to go to Antwerp on loan to ready them for the first team.
Spoof
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:21 PM
Comment #297Ciaran
he may well have earned enough from us to justify selling us for an even bigger profit, but don’t build your hopes up m8, as long as we stay in the Prem and as long as Sky still keep on pumping £m’s into his pocket then I doubt that he will sell, I just cannot see Ashley selling a business which is currently earning him so much easy money.
jesperfuglsang - captain of the lemon crew
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:21 PM
Comment #298Lilongwe…for one short moment I thought is was Gazza, but then again something just didnt’t add up!
…some has speculated that it is Dave Kitson, but I am just not sure!
jimmysmith
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:24 PM
Comment #299How about recoup his debt and then more of the same for ever more.
SholaHeskey
Jan 29, 2014 at 2:55 PM
Comment #300Ed, hope the wife’s op goes quickly and well.
Markaccus – top England players last 20 years (IMO):
Gerrard
Lampard
Beckham
Scholes
Hart
Ashley Cole
Shearer
McManaman
Terry
Heskey
Rooney
Adams
And border line 20 yrs (1990 WC 23 yrs ago) Lineker/Platt/Gazza/Waddle/Robson
All or most have been rubbish for England but good for their clubs, played for big teams and the likes of Real/Barca/Inter/AC were linked with most of them in their day (if they didnt play for them anyway) so top class but poo for england 🙂
SholaHeskey
Jan 29, 2014 at 3:08 PM
Comment #301Spoof, How’s it earning him money mate?
He had to put in say 200million, to buy/pay off debt etc. he’s stilled owed the loan (130 mill?) – once the loan is paid off he can (is) making money but he has to take the money out like any other shareholder – as dividends, and will be taxed on it accordingly. He will be a higher rate tax payer presumably so if he wants a quid out he will lose about 33p of it to HMRC. That’s at least 3 years down the line, before he makes money. interestingly though, say he’s owed 130mill (a number mentioned on here). If he was to charge the club interest for his loan (which he is entitled to do but doesnt) he would have to charge a market rate of interest (or HMRC would be all over him) say 5%, people can get mortgages for 5% interest so thats a fair amount. 5% of 130mill is 6.5mil a year interest. In lieu of interest he gets to plaster SD adverts everywhere. Would we get 6.5m per year (bearing in mind that number will shrink as he pays it off but is compounded by the interest so not paying off as quickly as you think) in advertising if he didnt have SD everywhere? some companies would love to sponsor NUFC but some wouldnt due to the negative press we get (riots/horse punchers/beer swilling owner/JFK gob/pardew hating old chileans)…better to have something on the hoardings to show adverts go there than be blank and have to watch the game 🙂
welshgeordie9
Jan 29, 2014 at 10:01 PM
Comment #302we won’t be buying Grenier or any other player this window.
jaymundoman69er
Jan 30, 2014 at 12:23 AM
Comment #303I’m shitting myself for Saturday, Adam Johnston is on a tear! Hope we smash the mackem scum!