Paper Talk - 7/1

By James B
January 8 2006

A roundup of all the transfer gossip from todays papers regarding Newcastle United.

Starting with a potential swap deal, speculation that Lee Bowyer will be moving back to London is increasing now Souness has confirmed an interest in Charlton midfielder Danny Murphy. The story that the Sun carries today suggests that some sort of part exchange deal could be on the cards, with Lee Bowyer plus a small sum of cash heading for London in return for playmaker Murphy.

Although it remains to be seen whether this story has any substance, it certaily seems viable considering Toon manager Souness has said both Lee Bowyer is "homesick", and Danny Murphy is a player he likes. Also, what with the current injury crisis on Tyneside, I for one would be very surprised if the manager would be happy to let a player go without bringing someone else in.

In the longer term you would have to say Murphy would not be heavily involved in first team action, with other central midfielders such as Emre, Parker, Faye and arguably Dyer on the books. However his style of play does give him something different to offer, and he is a player I think would make a decent signing.

The other speculation in todays papers regarding Newcastle is that Real Sociedad striker Nihat could be destined for Tyneside in a £2mill switch. For a while now there have been murmerings that Souness is an admirer of the frontman, but with little concrete evidence to suggest that a move could be on the cards. However The Mail today seems to think that we are interested in hijacking Moscow's move for the Turk and putting him in a black and white shirt.

I personally am not sure about the credibility of this story. Even with Owen out, Souness still has Shearer and Luque to pick up front (and Dyer if he makes a successful comeback from injury). Shepherd had also said that there would be no funding in January unless Souness sold players, and I can't see him depleting his squad even more. However times do change, and with Souness still fighting in the job despite pressure from the media and fans Shepherd may have decided to continue to back the manager, but we will have to wait and see on this one.

 
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