The Telegraph have released a new piece detailing Newcastle’s pursuit of a top class midfielder, explaining how we ended up with Sandro Tonali.
Luke Edwards reports that our entire recruitment team pushed hard for Declan Rice, with early meetings involving Dan Ashworth, Steve Nickson, Eddie Howe, Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Jamie Reuben and Eddie’s nephew, Andy. However, it soon became clear that a move for the West Ham star was ‘impossible’, due to the Hammers demanding over £100m and the player’s wages stretching well beyond our current structure.
Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella was then pursued, but Newcastle soon discovered that the 26-year-old would command a similar fee and wage package to Rice. Inter were in no rush to sell, but the opposite was true at AC Milan; who were ‘in far greater need of money’ and open – albeit reluctantly – to selling their star midfielder in Sandro Tonali.
The Telegraph report that, despite claims in Italy that we were about to pay over £65m for the 23-year-old, Newcastle held their nerve during talks and negotiated a deal worth £52m, having already agreed personal terms with the player.
The club believe they have a gem who is already at an ‘elite level’, with further room for growth under Eddie Howe. So, not only does this feel like a huge coup for the club and the arrival of a top level midfielder, it seems we’ve signed him for considerably less than the figures reported last week.
More cut and paste from fake edwards … newcastle were never in for rice and barella was out of reach ..all confirmed reports a month ago
Mike(Quote)