Steve Bruce has confirmed that he’ll meet Mike Ashley in the ‘next couple of days’ to discuss January transfer business.
This will be the first time the pair have met since the summer, although the NUFC boss claims the Sports Direct tycoon has been ‘very supportive’ of him ever since he took the job to replace Rafa Benitez last year.
Here’s what Bruce has had to say today ahead of the pair’s ‘planned’ meeting this week:
“I’m meeting up with the owner in the next couple of days.
“That’s planned.
“Let’s see what we can get.
“As I have said all along, if there is something that can make us better and they are available I will ask the owner, of course.
“But I’m not one for bringing in players for the sake of it.
“He was very supportive in the summer.
“He’s been very supportive of me, full stop.”
Big money moves for Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin meant we spend a few quid over the summer – although almost half of that outlay was funded by Ayoze Perez’s £30m exit.
That said, Bruce’s comments suggest we’ll only sign a player if they A) fit into Mike Ashley’s buying policy and B) are good enough to improve our first team.
I understand why he doesn’t want to add another body for the sake of it (we don’t need another Antonia Barreca or Seydou Doumbia who signs but doesn’t get close to playing), however our lack of goals and huge injury list means we really do need all the help we can get.
A point at Wolves over the weekend was a positive step forward to get us back on track, but Mike Ashley would be a fool if he believes we will definitely stay up without signing this month.
