Newcastle United have been left “stunned” by the rising costs of signing Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham after the deal appeared to have been done, according to reports.
The Sun had claimed that the north-east giants were confident that Abraham would sign on a season-long loan at the end of last week before he flew to Poland to represent England Under-21s at the European Championships.
But that did not prove to be the case and the Mail now report that any club wanting to take the striker for next season must pay a £1million signing-on fee to the player and his agents, a salary of more than £50,000-a-week and a lucrative goal bonus.
It is said that the costs will be applied to the deal rather than a traditional loan fee for the Chelsea forward, who has just completed an exceptional season on loan at Bristol City.
The Mail report that the demands of Wasserman Media Group and the player’s agent Neil Fewings have shocked interested clubs and may end the interest of Premier League new boys Brighton.
Chelsea are aware of the additional fees being discussed and are comfortable with them, as their priority is for Abraham to secure a temporary move to a club where he can best develop his game.
It appears that the striker’s future is now up in the air after he was named as one of three Chelsea starters in the England Under-21 team that drew 0-0 against Sweden on Friday.
Abraham scored 26 goals from 48 appearances in all competitions for Bristol City as he demonstrated the pedigree that have convinced Chelsea he could even eventually make the rare step of graduating from the club’s youth ranks into their first team.
The London-born youngster has yet to figure for the Blues’ senior team, although he has scored 13 goals in 29 games for the club’s Under-23s.
The Mail report that he will sign a new contract with Chelsea before he goes out on loan for next season.