Magpies break record transfer fee again on FC Bayern player
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Rob Lee
Published at 9:17AM, August 5 2015
Summer rebuilding at Tyneside has been concluded in a sensational manner as
Newcastle announced their fourth and third first team signing of the window. Hristov spoke at length about his intentions to rebuild his central midfield and let Cheick Tiote and Vurnon Anita go to open up space for new recruits. The first one - Will Hughes - hardly convinced the fans the team will be stronger without the pair, but the transfer the club just confirmed is something else. Industrious defensive midfielder
Javi Martinez (26) has agreed to leave
FC Bayern after three seasons with the Germans after a
56.0 million pounds fee was agreed. It is another structured deal which will see the Magpies pay 20 million up-front and further 36 million over the next four years.
Javi has scored 6 goals and created another 10 in 116 outings for the Munich giants but the reason these stats should impress you is he is primarily a destroyer. A role he expertly executed in the Bundesliga and the European tournaments. Javi Martinez is a very fit player and meets the criteria of 50+ games per season material Hristov wants in his team. The Bulgarian was happy to call his transfer business done with the conclusion of the transfer:
Reporter: Finally, you have secured a genuine top-notch player in the transfer market! Are you happy with your central midfield now?
Dimiter Hristov: Absolutely, we will have a good mix available once Cabaye is fully fit - you know he's back in training and should be ready in a couple of weeks. It might mean I will ask Sissoko to drop a little deeper because Will Hughes is a creative player but we now have four good players for two positions, plus Januzaj if required, so we are well stocked.
Reporter: Despite the substantial financial outlay, your budget is still massive. What is the next are you would like to improve? Perhaps a goalkeeper to challenge Tim Krul?
Dimiter Hristov: We shall see if there is any movement in the market that requires us to interact again but I don't expect anything further for the time being. I am happy with the team as it is and completely confident it can challenge for honors this season.
It is strange Hristov persists so stubbornly with backup keeper Jak Alnwick and that could be punished in the event Tim Krul picks up an injury, but that's his call to make. I'd personally like to see a couple more positions strengthened - a winger and a striker to be precise - but we'll have to make-do with what we have.
Javi Martinez transfer verdict: 9.5/10 - perhaps the best possible defensive midfielder the Magpies could have brought in.
This is without a shadow of a doubt the biggest transfer window Newcastle have had for at least a decade and we will keep a tracker on how the transfer budget is spent. The way the fee for Javi Martinez has been structured by the club means 24.5 million pounds have to be deducted from the pot:
Newcastle transfer budget: 55.29 million pounds (32.54 million initial)