Newcastle are currently negotiating a compensation package for Steve Bruce, who looks set to take over as the club’s new manager, according to the Times.
They claim that Sheffield Wednesday could be set to get as much as £5million for Bruce and his backroom staff including Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence.
This comes after Sam Allardyce said on talkSPORT that he had turned down the opportunity to talk to Newcastle about the job.
“I was very flattered that I was considered but it’s that thing… don’t go back,” Allardyce said.
“It never got to the type of talks people are suggesting but it wasn’t for me. I politely said ‘no’.
“I never got to talk to Mike Ashley. My agent contacted me, I had a think about it and a quick look at the situation and thanked them very much but it’s not for me.”
VERDICT
Newcastle fans are always complaining that Ashley doesn’t spend money on the club but £5million is a significant outlay for a manager. However, this spend is unlikely to win Ashley any more fans at St James’ Park. The overriding view from the Newcastle fans is that the Bruce appointment is a real negative that’s more likely to get the club relegated than find success in the Premier League. Bruce hasn’t managed in the top flight since 2015 with Hull and has been in the Championship with Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday since. He was sacked at Aston Villa after failing to convince the fans there, who were set against him from the start after his longtime managing their bitter rivals Birmingham. Bruce obviously doesn’t mind going into combative situations and he’s certainly not going to get an easy ride from the Newcastle fans who seem to be expecting the worst from next season. Newcastle are set to jet off to China for a pre-season tour on Saturday and will play Wolves next week.