According to the Mirror, Rafa Benitez will attempt to move on Jack Colback and Jamie Sterry from Newcastle United this month, with the report also stating any offer in the region of £5m would be enough to see the club cash in on Henri Saivet – despite his impressive display in December’s 3-2 win at West Ham.
Firstly, it’s no surprise to hear that the club will make an attempt to cash in on Colback. He’s clearly played his last game for the club after a row with Rafa and the sooner he’s sold the better – especially when you consider he’s meant to be picking up around £40,000 per week.
Young right-back Jamie Sterry just hasn’t ever looked like getting a first-team chance, so it may be best for both parties to see him go on to pastures new.
Saivet’s potential exit after so recently making a good impression on his first start under Rafa may seem a funny one, but Benitez will be looking beyond his impressive free-kick that saw him steal the show that day. He deserved real credit for the character he showed in that game and appears to have the right attitude in his attempts to get back into his plans, but the fact he’s never made a matchday squad since his surprise start at West Ham says it all.
He started that day due to Merino, Shelvey and Hayden all being unavailable and he’s never had a look in since, highlighting that he’s clearly still fifth choice in the central midfield pecking order when everyone’s fit.
January is a huge month for us. Whilst there’ll be calls to keep Saivet and reward his performance during his recent rare start, I expect Rafa to be ruthless this month and do what’s best to sanction new signings – and selling these three could raise a bit of cash and create some room for much needed fresh blood.
Let us know your thoughts folks. Would you bat and eyelid if these three were flogged?
