Newcastle wanted to sign Everton midfielder James McCarthy in January and also winger Andros Townsend from Crystal Palace, but we were not successful – and one thing that has puzzled us is why we haven’t aggressively gone after either of these two players this summer.
What happens when you don’t aggressively pursue your targets is that other clubs come in for them and would you believe that Leicester City are now interested in signing the 26 year-old Everton central midfielder who we think would be a great buy for us.
And Leicester have more funds to meet the asking price for James – £20M or £25M – whichever reports you believe.
26 year-old Everton midfielder James McCarthy
We have wanted James since last summer and if we had managed to stay up Rafa would probably have gone after him at that time.
We definitely need another playmaker in the team and we found out last season that Jonjo Shelley is not enough – when he’s injured or suspended and out of the team we looked poor.
A cheaper alternative to James is Manchester City central midfielder Fabian Delph, who is available for £12M with Stoke City looking like the main competition to Newcastle.
27 year-old Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph
Is it too much to ask that they decide which player they want between the two of them and then go all out to sign him.
We can get Fabian by bidding the £12M City want for him rather than going in with £8M and then waiting a week or two and then raising it to £8.5M – you know – that kind of thrifty nonsense that gets you nowhere fast.
That’s the type of stuff that dragged the Florian Lejeune transfer out to more than six weeks.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
183 comments so far
Bambams
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:29 PM
Comment #1I am not a fan of McCarthy and he is expensive.
All quiet on Townsend and I think we are looking at other wingers.
Delphi looked good when I watched him in games.
But who knows who we are looking at, even less know if we will try and sign them.
hibbit
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:33 PM
Comment #2it’s getting very close to the point where Rafa will either have to kill this story dead or run with it far too many people are now starting to believe it
Rafa is the only one who can kill it instantly if he won’t its got to make you atleast wonder why !!!!
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:35 PM
Comment #3Don’t worry lads. Wor Ashley knows his thrifty nonsense like no other owner. If there is a decent player out there we will definitely under-bid for him! Harrumph!
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:36 PM
Comment #4Roll-on to Fulham!
Boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
Wonderful player that Roll-on….
Our Toon
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:36 PM
Comment #5Delphi for me all day long, he’s better than McCarthy
Markaccus
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:42 PM
Comment #6I think Delph is and always has been way over rated. However, he is at least a well rounded attacking mf and is better than mcarthy. If we had to have one of these, i would say Delph and hope he prives me wrong.
Belfast
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:42 PM
Comment #7I wouldn’t even pay 5 million for McCarthy never mind 25. The bunch of piss takers!
Jib
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:43 PM
Comment #8Our Toon
Jib
Huddersfield have bought players that probably wouldn’t have improved our squad
So why bother comparing the 2 clubs ?
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:45 PM
Comment #9Ryan Hyacinth will make us great again! Ashley will not sanction any further player transfers until this lad makes the senior squad. The wait won’t seem long at all lads. The boy is already 10 after all…..
Markaccus
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:46 PM
Comment #10On Huddersfield…
A wholesale purchase of manure is still basically a load of sh1t 😀
In other words, they have bought mainly poor players imo
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:47 PM
Comment #11The journo’s are wrong. We’ve been after Paul McCartney, not James McCarthy! Simple mistake really……
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:48 PM
Comment #12One Pencilcock is worth 7 Huddersfield players in today’s market Markaccus mate….
hibbit
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:49 PM
Comment #13GeordieTwo
i know you’re trying to make light of the situation but these are serious times for a lot of fans nerves are starting to fraying
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:49 PM
Comment #14We certainly do not think McCarthey would be a great buy for us, at least I don’t. I reckon we already have a similar type of player in Colback, who, imo is better than him.
Sitting on the fence re. Delph.
Are we going to try and predict the team for Friday, be handy to know who’ll be in the squad if we are.
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:53 PM
Comment #15I’m concerned as well hibbit mate but we have to just wait a while. I think a lot of clubs are in the same boat with the shock of what players are going for now. We’ll end up getting a few in or Rafa will walk. It’s up to Ashley and Charnley to make the right decisions.
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:53 PM
Comment #16Hibbit
I wonder if there has been an upsurge in Valium sales amongst the Toon fanbase. 🙂
ShirebrookToon
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:53 PM
Comment #17Oh I see we’re back to being linked with players now. One minute it’s Rafa ain’t happy and then next it’s Newcastle linked with Tom,Dick and Harry. Nobody knows what to believe anymore.
Jail for Ashley
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:55 PM
Comment #18Jib,
There’s been no doom and gloom from me this summer. I’m very much in the Bobby and hibbit camp that says until Rafa comes out and says something it’s all going according to plan. But this Michael Hardy has apparently got a close working relationship with Rafa and no doubt wants to write another book with him in a few years time, would he risk that friendship/relationship by writing a load of rubbish.
ShirebrookToon
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:55 PM
Comment #19All I know is. I’ll be there for the Spuds game on August 13th!
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:55 PM
Comment #20We won’t pay 25M for McCarthy. End of. It’s complete bollocks. Let them get it from somebody else. An improved offer for Murphy makes much more sense. Double his wage as well and he’ll be in for his medical before we know it…..
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:57 PM
Comment #21New rumour, we are after a player nicknamed The Hound from a Westeros team, bit of a beast apparently.
Our Toon
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:57 PM
Comment #22Jib
I think they’ve probably bought the best they can, considering the size of the club, not many will be jumping for joy to join them. The likes of Ince etc will improve the existing squad they have. They were one of the favourites to go down last season.
At least they’ve spent where they can is the point I’m making. 35m you say, I wouldn’t take any of the players they’ve bought but they are trying to give themselves a chance and not crying about how overpriced the market is
ShirebrookToon
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:59 PM
Comment #23G2
12 mil should get us Murphy I reckon. Batshuayi on season loan with option to buy, Willems for LB and Carvalho for midfield.
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 12, 2017 at 6:59 PM
Comment #24Having his medical on Monday.
ShirebrookToon
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:01 PM
Comment #25Bill,
He missed a howler of a chance the other day
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:02 PM
Comment #26£20m would probably get both of the Murphys, then loan them back to Norwich for a season as a sweetener.
lesh
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:02 PM
Comment #27If Rafa does decide he’s had enough of Ashley’s promises and walks, we can be sure there’ll be the biggest turnout ever on Gallowgate – to watch Ashley being carted up the hill and out to the Elsdon gibbet where there’ll be an even bigger crowd to greet him.
hibbit
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:03 PM
Comment #28shire
that list should be achievable but the chance of it happening seem to be about NIL at the moment
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:03 PM
Comment #29When does the TV money go out to the Prem clubs? Martin Hardy mentions later this month. Some of that money will have to be spent on players. The idea we can fund transfers by selling some of our dross is ridiculous. Get on with it Ashley.
mactoon
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:04 PM
Comment #30All this speculation that we will bid anywhere near £10 million for a player amazes me. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that we have nowhere near the transfer fund we thought would be available and Charnley has to decide a valuation for each player Rafa wants which includes wages, agent fees, player signing on fees and so on. This will be in the context of the overall transfer budget so once he makes his mind up, that valuation won’t budge.
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:04 PM
Comment #31Did have one serious injury but is now over that and apparently is now injury proof.
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:09 PM
Comment #32The Hardy article is fairly worrisome. But it’s really only what we already see. That we haven’t been spending. That we apparently don’t increase our bids enough. That there is uncertainty about how much power Rafa really has. That we don’t really know what the transfer budget is.
Reilly
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:10 PM
Comment #33Rafas and ashleys ambitions for the club dont match up.sooner or later it will all come to a head.
GeordieTwo
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:12 PM
Comment #34I’d have to agree with that Reilly. It’s another thing that Hardy mentioned. It happened with Keegan and it will happen again. If Ashley thinks he can con Rafa then he’s in for a rude awakening.
toontaff2
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:15 PM
Comment #35According to Sky transfer centre ‘Udders have spent 42.5 million, 10 players in, including 2 loans and a free.
Thought it was 9.
Need to ask the ITK fan, Welsh’Udders9. 😆
Jib
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:16 PM
Comment #36Our Toon
Comment #22
Jib
At least they’re not crying about how overpriced the market is
Quite right
Their market isn’t overpriced they haven’t bought a single PL player
Jail
I don’t think MARTIN Hardy is that close to Rafa despite his claims
I think Rafa read it and was happy to give his endorsement
When you are looking for what motivates journos to write stuff about NUFC
you must always bear in mind that The Telegraph , Independent ,
and Guardian all hate Mike Ashley’s guts.
Ron Knee
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:16 PM
Comment #37Imagine how sales of Sh*te Direct would plummet on Tyneside if the unthinkable happened.
ShirebrookToon
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:16 PM
Comment #38Toontaff,
He’ll be on soon to clarify things lol
Jail for Ashley
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:18 PM
Comment #39Aye, Ashley convinced KK that he wanted success only to deliberately undermine him almost immediately, it is not inconceivable that once promotion was secured and then the season ticket sales brought in that Ashley might revert to type, he may well think that done a little bit differently to the way things were done before that a plodder who matches his ambition could keep us in the PL. Minimum spend for a couple of years with that TV money and he could well have all his money back.
Jib
Jul 12, 2017 at 7:19 PM
Comment #40It’s a real shame that Friday nights game isn’t on TV
If just for Rafa’s pre and post match intrviews