Surprise! Hristov and Kinnear messed it up! What now?!
View attachment 455632
Rob Lee
Published at 7:33PM, July 26 2013
This is life at Newcastle - like it or hate it, love it or be bored to death with it, it never stops being interesting. But as the Chinese saying goes, that's not necessarily a good thing. And I fear after tonight it may be a short trek to ****.
It was a calm evening at Tyneside and nothing suggested major fireworks are about to light the fire of insecurity threatening to swallow our dear club. Newcastle remained true to the recent standard of high activity on the transfer market but as funds in the coffers have been significantly decreased it was little surprise the club focused on outgoing transfers.
At 5:13PM
Newcastle announced midfielder
Haris Vuckic (20) has been
loaned out for the season to Championship outfit
Bolton. Wanderers will have the option of making the signing permanent in exchange of a 2.0m pounds fee.
At 5:35PM
Newcastle made another announcement - fullback
James Tavernier (21) also went out
on loan to the Championship,
Blackpool his destination. A fixed fee of 675k pounds was thrown as a clause in the deal.
At 5:42PM
Newcastle offered
Blackpool to activate the clause in Tavernier's loan contract and the Championship club agreed. The transfer was immediately finalized and
James Tavernier was sold for
675k pounds.
But the real havoc broke loose as the clock ticked past 6:00. Much to the dismay of fans, pundits and everyone related to English football, Newcastle sanctioned a deal to bring in Brazil international
Alex Sandro from
FC Porto for a
11.5 million pounds fee, 4.5 million up front and the rest over the next 4 years. The deal was amusing as it both depleted the transfer budget and because Alex is... a left fullback. A position Newcastle have well and truly covered already with Davide Santon, Massadio Haidara and new recruit Leighton Baines - for whom Hristov broke the club record fee.
As the club declined to comment before the official press conference, speculation exploded Santon will be sold or Alex Sandro is actually Hristov's replacement for Jonas and will be employed on the left flank. But the genuine truth is nobody had a clue. The Brazilian is definitely a flair player as he likes to get forward and finish attacks on his own by lobbing the opposition keeper. He spent two seasons with FC Porto and managed 32 games with 2 goals.
Clouds of confusion gathered over Saint James Park as Joe Kinnear returned to the ground after a prolonged trip abroad. The local press expected clarification over the Alex Sandro deal but were stunned as the Magpies Director of Football announced that a further signing has been made and Argentina international winger
Eduardo Salvio (23) is to join the club from
Benfica in a
15.0 million pounds deal, 6.0m pounds up front and the rest over the next 48 months.
Kinnear, visibly tired from a hectic schedule, moved on to briefing the Salvio credentials - 29 appearances for Benfica with 10 goals during last season, ability to play down both flanks, etc. - without realizing he has just spent over the budget available. When interrupted and asked for explanation, Kinnear was unable to provide such and concluded the press conference with the words he would need to investigate the matter. Hristov himself was available to comment on the events but did not reveal how the events tonight became possible:
Reporter: What happened tonight, Mr. Hristov?
Dimiter Hristov: To my best judgment we signed two exceptional players for this great football club.
Reporter: Would you please explain how that was possible? How could you spend money you don't actually have?!
Dimiter Hristov: I can't give you an explanation here, the financial side of the negotiations was at Joe's hands, I merely talked with the players and their agents to convince them Newcastle is their best destination after the Director of football had agreed terms with the respective clubs. So can we please focus on the footballing side of things?
Reporter: Alright, I will indulge you for a second. Why on earth would you need to spend so much on yet another left fullback after you have Santon and Haidara and you already splashed big on Leighton Baines? How will you even use these players?!
Dimiter Hristov: Alex Sandro is a little bit different to them and he offers us something more going forward plus he can really step in on the wing if needed so he is definitely a good buy. Right now Haidara is pretty much surplus to requirements but he is injured so I can't move him out. Hopefully when he is back to full fitness we may be able to arrange some kind of a loan deal for him. Which leaves me exactly where I want to be - I have Debuchy and Peruzzi covering the right flank of defense, Baines and Alex Sandro on the left and Santon providing cover for both.
Reporter: Ugh all that for just some 100-150 million or whatever it was... What about Salvio? Why not just go for Gaitan who is more experienced and significantly cheaper?
Dimiter Hristov: I was very impressed with Salvio's influence in the Europa League quarter final when we met Benfica earlier this year. Our scouting crew was adamant he is a much, much better player than Gaitan and has the potential to become even better. Between the two of those, it was a no-brainer.
Reporter: Mr. Hristov, you don't print money in your basement, do you? I will ask you once again, are you some Arab protege or something? How did you pull the financial aspects of these deals? Are they reversible considering this is obviously money you don't have?
Dimiter Hristov: The Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is on his way and will provide these answers for you once he makes it to the airport. What I can confirm at this moment is the transfers are irreversible and these players are here to stay. You WILL get the answers you are looking for, I'm just not the person to provide them at this stage.
It will be extremely interesting to hear what Ashley has to say when he makes it to Newcastle. Initial reports suggest he was literally ****** off when he heard what is going on and there was a lot of shouting in several phone conversations before he boarded the plane from Sierra Leone. One thing is certain - he did not sanction the hectic spending we witnessed over the past weeks and did not provide the additional cash we saw poured out on transfers tonight. Key figures at the club hinted Hristov is set for big trouble while the financial future of the entire club is hanging in the balance. Stay tuned for further news from the North East!
Haris Vuckic transfer verdict: 6.5/10 - loan deal with buy-out clause at a good price for a young player who failed to live up to expectations - decent move.
James Tavernier transfer verdict: 4.5/10 - nothing special here - the player obviously had to be moved on but the fee could have been higher.
Alex Sandro transfer verdict: 1.5/10 - excellent player but 1. expensive, 2. where will he play?, 3. very expensive.
Eduardo Salvio transfer verdict: 1.0/10 - the young winger doesn't deserve this but he could turn out to be the catalyst for a real meltdown at Saint James' Park in the year the FA will be monitoring all clubs with a view for the FFP rules coming in force.
We also keep tracking the transfer budget Hristov promised would be reinvested straight in the squad. 90% of the transfer fee for James Tavernier (610k pounds) has been added to the pot while the transfer fees for Alex Sandro (4.5 million pounds) and Eduardo Salvio (6.0 million pounds) have been deducted:
Newcastle transfer budget:
-4.94m pounds (9.36m initial)
