Journalist reveals the transfer news Mike Ashley delivered to Steve Bruce in latest meeting

An interesting if not frustrating piece on the transfer has emerged from The Chronicle’s Mark Douglas.

Little has been reported on the ‘meeting’ Steve Bruce said he was about to have with Mike Ashley a few days after the final game of the season, but Douglas has given an insight into what was said when the two spoke.

He claims that Mike Ashley admitted to the Newcastle United boss that his budget had been cut ‘by as much as half’ in an ‘honest conversation’ between them the week before last.

Douglas states that Bruce’s preference to avoid spending in January (where we opted for nothing but loans) so that he could be handed a bigger budget this summer, however that ‘plan’ has backfired now COVID-19 and the financial hit that’s come with it has been his transfer kitty go from an expected £60m to as little as £30m.

Far from ideal, especially when it’s mentioned in the same piece that, despite budgets being cut, prices have remained pretty high, suggesting the market is yet to settle down.

We aren’t alone here in having our budget slashed, with this global pandemic hitting the whole football world, however this will only make our search for a much needed goalscorer that bid harder – especially when no proven striker tends to come cheap!

If I had to guess, we may spent a big chunk of that budget on a forward and be forced to look for free agents, loans and bargains elsewhere in a bid to improve our squad before the season starts next month.

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About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

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