Toon in talks with Tranquillo?

toonsy

Newcastle Alp-ing themselves to this Swiss international?
Newcastle are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a potential move for Switzerland midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta, if reports in today’s Journal are to be believed.

The Journal “understands” that Newcastle are keen to firm up a long-standing interest in the player by bringing him to St James’ Park as a direct replacement for the seemingly outbound Joey Barton.

However I would exercise caution, like I do with all rumours and “understanding”, and won’t count anything as gospel until something more official appears. As it stands it’s just paper gossip but it would solve one of the problems we have with the squad should Barnetta arrive on the banks of the Tyne.

The 26-year-old scored two goals against England at the back end of last season and drew plaudits for his performance in that game. He’s been capped 59 times for his country and has scored eight goals at international level whilst his club career stats stand at 247 appearances with 37 goals from mainly a right wing position.

Getting in a right winger makes sense, even if it does seemingly have to be at the expense of Joey Barton. We have some brilliant central midfielders and having seen Yohan Cabaye first hand at Leeds I feel confident that he will have no problems adjusting to life in the Premier League alongside Cheik Tiote, which means that the only real place of concern in the middle of the park is that right wing.

What would be better? A central midfielder out on the right? Or a right winger out on the right? Bear in mind that whilst Barton did a brilliant job for us out there for us his assist rate and contribution dried up without Andy Carroll to ping balls to. I’m not muddying Barton here or watering down his contribution, but I do seem to recall people saying that same thing throughout the season.

At the end of the day NUFC have to do something or else we face the very real risk of heading into next season with a weaker squad than the one we finished last season with. Signing someone like Barnetta may inevitably not be the answer, but the player is apparently keen to come and at least it would allow people to make a bit of sense of the whole allowing Joey Barton to go fiasco.

In an ideal world I’d keep Barton and sign Barnetta, but unfortunately it’s not an ideal world.

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

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165 thoughts on “Toon in talks with Tranquillo?”

  1. Toonsy @ 70 I read talksport have just said todays annoucment was Pardew is resigning. Have no idea if talksport said that just what I read.

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  2. im reading on diffrent sites that barrnetta is being greedy,but would you do the same job for less money.

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  3. average prem wage these days roughly 25 – 30k going off deloitte reports. german wages are roughly same (surprisingly german clubs pay good wages)

    bearing this in mind – how the f**k does our director think he can entice a quality swiss international to our club for 40k a flipping week??! Less than what he is getting now???

    Thickarse

    I give up

    Towel has been thrown in

    HWTL 🙁

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  5. Aye agree with Toonsy, when the hell did we start trusting agents? C*nts one and all, that guys just fissy that he wouldn’t be getting his slice of the pie by the club going directly to Barnetta’s German agent..who probably released the info knowing the toon would up there price but probably still go back to him rather than the british guy that just mouthed off 😆

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  6. Same old Newcastle! Im quite sick of how they do business, always missing out on that extra bit of quality because we are too cheap! It sickens me. Added to this is that to get a good player we need to pay them a decent wage after all we are hardly the most attractive club these days, just look at what is going on now. Some might say you would be daft to come here at present for any price!
    Relegation beckons this season. Join NUFC the new premier bunji club

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  7. if u are injuried in the german league…4 more then 6 weeks..they dont pay them for being injuried..it is written in the contracts..

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  8. steven olsen
    August 4, 2011 at 11:29

    “someone who doesnt owe ashley cash has a clue about tactics doesnt lose matches with stupid substitutions and actually cares about NUFC lee clark would be a good starting point”

    And would Lee Clark come and work under Ashley? That’s the point….

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  9. Losing pardew would totally destroy us this season. You seriously have to have something wrong with you if u think pardew is to blame at all.

    And r u really going to prove your idiocy by saying that pardew owes Ashley money as a fact? Ridiculous. Grow up people

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  11. He’s not on £40k a week now; it’s the Bundesliga, for chrisakes. Clubs are partly fan-owned, ticket prices are half what they are here, and players are paid accordingly.

    That’s just a scummy agent spitting his dummy and trying to scupper a deal because he’s been cut out of it.

    I wouldn’t be surprised to see Barnetta land, and a striker, within two weeks. Hopefully a LB too, as to be honest I see that as our most urgent position. We’ve got goals in the squad as it is; just not necessarily via the traditional route.

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  12. this is a joke now like!!! we are offering barnetta little amounts , hes just gna end up laughing at us like what nzog and erding done and then go somewhere else!! ashley is the tightest fecker ever he hasnt got a clue!!!

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  13. Agree with toonsy. We never really know exactly what is going on within our club.

    Waiting sucks though

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  14. Tooneye – can we quote you on that in May? :mrgreen:

    We’ll be fine. Shaky start, probably – but fine. We’ve got quality all over the midfield, which won’t win us trophies but will get plenty of points in the bag.

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  15. Has it actually been confirmed by any ‘proper’ source that there will be a press conference today?

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  16. wish toon would offer me 40k a week to play right wing … i could do a job

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  17. TOONSY your going to give up all these days off,and spend all day writeing threads if all this **** doesnt calm doon,feel sorry for you 😉

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  20. another day with the laughing stock at newcastle!! they are just a complete joke!! offering little amounts 4 players , we are never gonna get any1!! what a horrible time 4 us tan fans!!

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  23. I’m guessing people are getting their fannies moist over the already planned pre-Fiorentina press conference. It’s been planned for days. Nowt Unusual. It’s just the first time that Pardew will face the press about Barton.

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  24. Army: Another day with the laughing stock at NUFC fans who believe ***** in news websites and quotes from football agents!!

    Get real, man. Do you honestly believe any of that tosh? We don’t even know if these talks and offers are real, let alone the numbers involved!

    Again – just people believing anything that reinforces their hatred of the ‘regime’.

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  25. Just thinking it most have something to do with the Fiorentina game Toonsy. No moistness here thought, dryer that a Nuns one!

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  28. enrique was gone long time ago..paper talk and sky sources are a joke…they get nothing write..all these papers write about is us..they dont wont us in the prem league full stop…we have come a long way in a year..until we end up at the bottom of the league…stay postive…we have got a great midfield..better then most…and if it fires..we have won the pools…midfield is were u need fire power and legs..this is the first time for a long time we have got that…we wont have the snail brigade any more thats a start…

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  32. I’d feel sorry for Pardew if he resigned. He’s a better manager than Hughton, but he’s been treated like a dog by MA and Co. Pardew is no soft touch, and many players have said that about him, so if he goes, dont expect some tough guy to sort out MA. We have all been treated with contempt, but i’ve no doubt MA will be gone in about 3 years when he has recovered his investment. I would think he would love to sell us if we were down a division aswell – sweet revenge for Fats after we “threatened his family ” ( yeah right )

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  34. Amazes me that people think pardew is going to announce, erdinc signing, barnetta too and m bengue……. 🙄

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  35. @98 – Aaah I see. I was just readying myself for the lastest kick in the bollocks. However if its just the pre-match press conference then I can replax. 😀

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  37. i dont understand why the fat man cant just give joey barton a new contract ( he deserves one) & then lash some of the millions that’s sloshing around the bank on 2 or 3 qaulity players!!

    is’nt that how your spoze to run a big premier club like newcastle???

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  38. Munster Mag
    August 4, 2011 at 11:58

    “I’d feel sorry for Pardew if he resigned. He’s a better manager than Hughton, but he’s been treated like a dog by MA and Co. Pardew is no soft touch, and many players have said that about him, so if he goes, dont expect some tough guy to sort out MA.”

    Pretty much agree with that.

    People need to face facts that we aren’t going to get some Uber manager with Ashley in charge.

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  46. Batty would be great wouldnt it 😆

    Toonsy – wonder how poor old pardew feels we never hear from the owners so all he will ever be is a mouthpiece.
    Bet he will be bricking it….

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  50. Weeks flying by. Normally I’d hate it, but football on TV finally next week.
    I swear this has been the hardest in-between-seasons break I’ve had!

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  51. Would be extremely bad if we lost pardew. Please stop this talk of him resigning as we wouldnt get in anybody better and I think he is honestly doing a good job with what he has to work with. He has the most minimal of influence on our transfers, in sure

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  52. SkyBet_Dale Dale Tempest
    by sevans1308
    just moved pardew into 7/2 from 8/1 for the Premier league sack race sustained support this morning
    1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply
    😕

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  53. whimper – i meant every word of it & if it dont happen then i’d like to see the rest of the team protesting with a pre match sit down on the pitch before the **** game.

    original or wot 😉

    alreet dog m8.

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  54. hitman – who’s tweets you following now ?

    or would it be easier to say who your not following 😆

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  63. toonsy..if u got any links…please ask some1 at this press conference about ben arfa….ask him that question…

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  64. hitman + i heard batty has wangled himself a seat up front with wor bobby! not suprised there like mind.

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  69. Its a freakin disgrace that a footballer can DARE call 40k a week a ridiculous, how many of us can only dream of such money?… What have the world turned into when a guy who plays games for a living earns on week what a person taking care of the sick and elders earn in a year? The world is truly turned upsite down.

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  71. Valle @ 144 – you’re absolutely right, and look how they behave when they dont get to take freekicks or wear the frekkin armband in a friendly. Spoilt individuals with even more greedy agents leaching onto them. Sad world.

    Anyway on Barnetta would love to have him, and dont care for one second about what some punk of an agent is spouting. He is probably left outside the negotiations and feel left out becuase he cant leach any money off it, poor man……….

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  73. ARMY we have spent that money on free transfers and agents the club have said,you not belive them like,they dont lie do they 😀 😀

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  74. FMA wont spend big or pay big so all we can do is hope he goes and goes soon it wont get any better till he does .
    MAG TILL I DIE THEN SOME

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  75. have the dreamers had their five minutes of fun for the day.

    Barnetta will be coming knowhere near us.
    The guy is a top international

    Why do you believe the rubbish coming out of nufc.

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