Newcastle confirm trio of signings - NO French players!
New Boy - Ivan Rakitic (above) has penned a 5 year deal for the Magpies
Newcastle have today released a statement to the BBC which we can reveal exclusivly on BBCsport. They have told us they have completed the signings of 3 players, none of which are French, which Todd said he would sign.
The first player we are announcing is David Beckham. Newcastle have confirmed rumours that they were going to offer the Beckhams a way out of LA by signing the former England captain in a deal that expires in 2012 and sees him earn £60,000 a week. Beckham, 35, revealed he was delighted to be returning to England and hoped England and Newcastle would be delighted to have him back. He said Newcastle ticked all the right boxes for him, 'A club moving forward with Todd at the helm' were his other words. This will boost revenue for Newcastle on a global scale as we all know, David Beckham is a globally recognised superstar. The fee agreed was £2.5million.
The 2nd signing is Daniele Bonera from AC Milan for a fee of around £3.5million. The Italian CB had fell down the pecking order at AC Milan when he was out longer than expected after a successful hernia operation. Unable to force his way back into the team and becoming unhappy, Bonera requested to be put on the transfer list. Newcastle have stated this a great deal for the club as Bonera has bags of experiance and is still only 28 years old. He will join Newcastle in January with fellow CB addition Alvaro Dominguez, the Spanish CB from At.Madrid that some may have forgotten about.
The final deal, and possibly the best, is the completed signing of Croatian CM Ivan Rakitic from German side Schalke 04. The deal is said to be worth around £9.5million. Rakitic, 21, is highly rated amongst Europe's elite so a deal for him to come to Newcastle is viewed as a major one. Todd admittied he had viewed Rakitic in the summer but wasn't sure if he would be worth blowing all his transfer funds on. But he said he felt dissappointed with himself as Rakitic has been sensational thus far for Schalke. With the cash injection Todd recieved from owner Mike Ashley, Todd said the move was just right. He signs a 5 year deal, a contract which both parties are delighted with.
But in transfers going out, Mike Ashley revealed to the BBC in an interview that Todd wishes to sell several players at the club. He went on to say that Wayne Routledge, Danny Guthrie, Ryan Taylor and Steven Taylor are not a part of Todd's current plans and would like to cash in on them. He has also said the future of loan signing Darron Gibson is undecided with the future arrival of Ivan Rakitic.
So what do we think of the new arrivals? Has Todd blown £16million? Email us a [email protected] or text us 'YOUR NAME' followed by 'NEWCASTLE' and then your message. Gary will read several out on Saturday's MOTD.