Fee agreed for Remy
Closing in on Remy Newcastle United have agreed a fee for Marseille attacker Loic Remy, according to club president Vincent Labrune.
The fee agreed is believed to be in the region of €10m-€10.5m (or £8.2m-£8.7m in good old pounds sterling) which by my reckoning would make Remy the third most expensive signing Mike Ashley has made at Newcastle following the purchase of Fabricio Coloccini and Papiss Cisse.
It is understood that Remy, who supposedly said goodbye to his soon-to-be former colleagues prior to Marseille's game against Sochaux, will now travel to Newcastle to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical ahead of sealing a move potentially as early as the start of this week.
"We have reached an agreement in principle with Newcastle and we have given Loic permission to hold talks with them. We are now waiting on developments,” Labrune told AFP.
Meanwhile former Magpie midfielder Joey Barton, who now plies his trade at Stade Velodrome, took to Twitter to have his say on the matter. He basically said that a move to St James' Park would be good for the player and wished him the best although if you want to read the actual words they are quoted below.
“Good luck to Loic in Newcastle. Don’t worry I’ve told him what to expect. Great guy. Perfect club for him. #toonarmy”
The "I've told him what to expect" part could be interesting given Barton's well publicised falling out with the United hierachy... Of course I may be being a little sceptical there and Barton could just as easily be talking about our fanatical fanbase.
The 26-year-old would add some much required attacking versatility to the squad. Remy can play as a striker, winger or one of the wide attackers in a front three, which is how I see him being utilised with Hatem Ben Arfa on the other side firing in the chances for central striker Papiss Cisse to knock home. In an ideal world anyway. It was clear at Norwich on Saturday that we need some creativity...
It's not a done deal yet, not by any stretch and a potential medical issue with the players heart may yet come into play, as could a failure to agree personal terms, but I don't feel the latter will be too much of a problem. It's not often agents don't know what kind of deal is on the table before a player travels to complete the formalities. I doubt the heart problem will be a problem either but you never know...
hopefully we'll have confirmation soon enough...
