'Get Serious, or Get Lost'

By Matthew Jones
July 24 2005

Fulham manager Chris Coleman has said that Newcastle United must up thier bid if they wish to sign 27-year-old midfielder Luis Boa Morte. An offer was put in for the Portuguese international this week, but it was rejected immediately.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Coleman said: "Newcastle came in but I don’t consider that a serious offer. I won’t go into details but we rejected it immediately.

"I told Luis the same day that it came that there was no way that we would let him go, certainly not for that kind of money.

"So as far as I’m concerned, time’s ticking on. I’ve said before, I hope nobody thinks they are going to come in and buy him with two weeks to go before the transfer window shuts because that leaves us in a dilemma.

"Although we’re not one of the biggest clubs in the Premiership, we can’t be an easy touch at this level and just let the bigger clubs come down and take our best players. We can’t let that happen.

"Luis has said publicly that obviously he’d be interested in moving to a big club but he’s been good - he’s a good trainer, a great character, a good lad and he’s a team boy.

"So it’s as simple as this, if anyone says they are interested in him, let’s see some serious bids put on the table. I don’t consider the bid that we had for him a serious one."