Mike Ashley has paid £4million to Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri as compensation for Steve Bruce, according to the Sun.
Journalist Alan Nixon claims that this sum was sent to Sheffield Wednesday but that Bruce, along with backroom staff members Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence, left before it had been accepted.
The £4million is likely to be accepted although there could be further negotiations over Agnew and Clemence.
Bad blood
Bruce has left bad blood behind with Chansiri said to be “fuming” at how the Bruce situation has panned out, with the former Aston Villa manager only joining in January and having made signings for next season.
That’s not the first time he’s left a club under a cloud – he was sacked from Aston Villa and had a cabbage thrown at him by a disgruntled fan after a string of bad results in the Championship. Villa fans never accepted him after his six-year stint at local rivals Birmingham.
If the £4million was going to be accepted by Sheffield Wednesday then it seems odd for Bruce to have walked. He’ll be keen to hook up with his new side for their pre-season tour of China but it could surely have been handled much better.
£4m is a lot of money
One thing is certain though – Mike Ashley must have wanted Bruce badly. £4million is a lot of money to pay for a manager and the sum has been paid up front to Sheffield Wednesday. If the Sun report is true then it looks like Ashley will be able to announce the capture of his new man very shortly.
When that happens Bruce will have a big job on two fronts – to deliver the results that Ashley will be looking for, chief of which will be keeping Newcastle in the Premier League, and to win the home supporters over.
He’ll need the former for the latter but even good results might not be enough to persuade Newcastle fans that Bruce is a worthy replacement for Benitez.