Paper Talk - Friday July 8

By Jebediah
July 8 2005

Jebediah’s roundup of Mondays tabloid newspapers, and a look at the stories and rumours involving Newcastle United.

A much more eventful day in the papers today, following the sale of Bellamy and possibly youngster Darren Ambrose as well.

Starting with that Bellamy story, The Sun is reporting that he took a £10k p/w pay cut to join his new club Blackburn Rovers. Manager Mark Hughes was able to persuade his compatriot to join at a friends wedding and said "I am delighted to get him". Bellamy also had a small dig at Souness, however nothing on the scale of Roberts rant which earned him 4 weeks wages worth of fines.

Fridays tabloids also carry news that Darren Ambrose is at The Valley for talks with Charlton Athletic. Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd last night confirmed he had accepted a bid for the talented midfielder, and he has permission to talk to The Addicks.

With regard to possible arrivals, The Star has reported that Figo's move to Liverpool has been scuppered by Steven Gerrard and his decision to sign a new contract. On top of wages, the club aren't prepared to pay a fee for the former European Footballer of the Year, and the transfer is not moving forward any more. The Sun also reported that the deal has hit a snag, saying that the Reds are not prepared to pay £2m for his services, but he has agreed a one year deal worth £60k p/w with them.

The Sun has reported that the sale of Craig Bellamy has allowed Newcastle to make a formal offer for Inter midfielder Emre. Souness had already spoken to his target about a possible move to Tyneside, and now a bid has been tabled. Shepherd said Newcastle are "waiting for Inter to get back to us."

Also from The Sun, Real Madrid striker Michael Owen apparently wants a move to none other than Barcelona, Reals biggest rivals. The striker was linked with Newcastle over the summer, but it was always unlikely that the move would ever materialise. However a move to Barcelona would possibly be seen as even less probable.

Some good news from The Mirror is that Souness will turn his attention to signing Fulham man Luis Boa Morte soon, once the Emre deal is completed "within the next few days". Although many Newcastle fans might be feeling a sense of déja vú, to me the Emre deal seems probable. Shepherd recently confirmed he had bid for the Inter man, and a while ago Souness flew to Turkey to speak to Emre and after that meeting Emre told Turkish press he had agreed to become a Magpie. Although the transfer has dragged on a fair bit, the press seems to think that it is finally nearing completion. Newcastle were linked with Boa Morte in January, and the rumour refuses to go away, despite the Portuguese player signing a new deal recently.

Finally, former Newcastle defender Aaron Hughes, who was revealed as an Aston Villa player only yesterday despite completing a transfer a few weeks ago, has said his new club should be up there challenging for Europe. He said they are a club the "same stature as Newcastle" and should be pushing for "Europe at least."