Jimbo 133 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Sam Allardyce faces the prospect of losing both of Newcastle United's first-choice strikers before the start of next season after it emerged that Obafemi Martins, like Michael Owen, has a buyout clause in his contract at St James' Park. The existence of the agreement in Martins' contract - the Nigerian is available to any club willing to pay £13m for his services - has infuriated Allardyce, who was unaware of the clause when he moved to the North-east. That anger has been heightened by the fact that it has become public knowledge that Owen can leave if a bid of £9m is lodged for the England forward, following Newcastle's failure to qualify for Europe next season. Newcastle do not know whether or not Owen wants to stay but are acutely aware that Manchester United and Arsenal - should they sell Thierry Henry to Barcelona - may well come calling before the transfer window closes. Newcastle also fear that the indications they have so far received from Owen would suggest that he wants to leave. Allardyce wants to keep both Owen and Martins. However, the former is causing particular concern. Allardyce has signed Mark Viduka on a free transfer from Middlesbrough, but wants Owen and Martins to work alongside the Australian striker rather than be replaced by him. Martins is also a worry for Allardyce. After joining Newcastle from Internazionale a year ago, he apparently wants to return to Italy and believes that a club, thought to be Juventus, is willing to trigger his buyout clause. Allardyce is also concerned at the chaotic nature of Martins' private life, which is in disarray with reports claiming yesterday that a car carrying the 22-year-old striker was riddled with bullets in the Nigerian city of Lagos. That incident happened on Monday night, 48 hours after Martins had helped Nigeria to edge closer to January's African Nations Cup finals by playing in the 3-1 win over Niger in Niamey. After the match Martins also spoke about his decision to be unavailable for Newcastle's final match of the season at Watford. He said: "I signed a contract with Newcastle and I am happy at the club, and the way the fans supported me even when I wasn't scoring was great. If I am fully fit there is no way I will back out from playing any game for Newcastle. But it would not be right for me to wear the shirt and play when I know that I will not be giving my best." However, it is understood that Martins is agitating for a move, especially as he did not receive a substantial signing-on fee for joining Newcastle and because he has fallen out with the agents who previously represented him. Newcastle are aware of the upheaval in the striker's circumstances and have also said they will renegotiate Martins' contract and offer him a pay rise if he is willing to commit himself to the club and put his life in order. Allardyce wants to keep Martins and is as exasperated that he has a release clause in his contract as he is that Owen has a similar addendum in his deal. Newcastle are undergoing a major overhaul of their squad with Allardyce having released a number of defenders while selling Scott Parker, the club captain, to West Ham United for £7m. Allardyce has also made it plain that he regards a new defence as his priority. He intends to retain only Steven Taylor - although he may keep the full-back Stephen Carr if he can prove his fitness and appetite for the new campaign - having already dispensed with many experienced defenders, including Titus Bramble, Craig Moore and Oguchi Onyewu. Newcastle have been offered West Ham's Anton Ferdinand and the West Bromwich Albion captain Curtis Davies, who were both targets for Allardyce's predecessor, Glenn Roeder. But, having missed out on Talal Ben Haim, the Bolton Wanderers defender who was out of contract and who has joined Chelsea, they are looking for more experienced players such as the Czech Republic international David Rozehnal, who plays for Paris St- Germain and is available for around £3m. Allardyce has already signed Joey Barton for £5.8m from Manchester City - including covering the midfielder's £300,000 loyalty bonus - having sold Parker. He is also toying with the idea of offloading Kieron Dyer, whom he regards as unreliable and who has attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, and Emre Belozoglu. Newcastle are also interested in buying the Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng from the Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. A complication for Allardyce is the takeover of the club by the billionaire businessman Mike Ashley. Although the manager's position would appear safe, it is unclear what budget he will receive should the club's ownership change hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammynb 2934 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Newcastle have been offered West Ham's Anton Ferdinand and the West Bromwich Albion captain Curtis Davies, who were both targets for Allardyce's predecessor, Glenn Roeder. But, having missed out on Talal Ben Haim, the Bolton Wanderers defender who was out of contract and who has joined Chelsea, they are looking for more experienced players such as the Czech Republic international David Rozehnal, who plays for Paris St- Germain and is available for around £3m. He is also toying with the idea of offloading Kieron Dyer, whom he regards as unreliable and who has attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, and Emre Belozoglu. Two of the best bits of news I've heard all week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 36017 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 £13m for Martins is good money imo. If we keep him much longer we'll not get that for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 £13m for Martins is good money imo. If we keep him much longer we'll not get that for him. Why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khay 8 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 £13m for Martins is good money imo. If we keep him much longer we'll not get that for him. Why not? Going on current form dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammynb 2934 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 (edited) £13m for Martins is good money imo. If we keep him much longer we'll not get that for him. Why not? Going on current form dead. That and you can't be guaranteed he will turn up for away games. Any more news on what's happening with N'Zog? Edited June 21, 2007 by sammynb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 36017 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 £13m for Martins is good money imo. If we keep him much longer we'll not get that for him. Why not? Because if he continues in the same vein as last season, people will sharp realise he's not worth anything like that sort of money. And yes, I know he scored a few goals, but he also looked very very average in the majority of games he played in. And by majority, I'm not talking 51%. His good performances were few and far between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Snap their hands off for £13million. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammynb 2934 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Also I don't think he does enough work for the partnership with the lazy fat aussie to be successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombadil 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I'd take £13m for Martins, but I can see why Allardyce would be furious. Fat Fred has done a great job with these contracts, hasn't he... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 36017 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I'm loathe to criticise Shepherd, cos this is what it's gonna be like when I leave my job. People unearthing all the shit work I've been doing for the past while. GO FREDDY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1117 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I'm loathe to criticise Shepherd, cos this is what it's gonna be like when I leave my job. People unearthing all the shit work I've been doing for the past while. GO FREDDY! If you believe what Souness is saying now all you can do is blame fatty for all of the players we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norbert Colon 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I am not altogether certain how this buy out clause has suddenly come to light - perhaps Sam realises what we all know that Martins is great on his day but that isn't often enough and is playing a bit of a shrewd game to see if anyone is tempted by this news of a clause by letting it leak that he is furious about it. It certainly wouldn't surprise me - Martins is a bit of a loose cannon and Sam has striker preferences elsewhere (Anelka etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 At least the Martins clause is more than we paid for him I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fop 1 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Newcastle have been offered West Ham's Anton Ferdinand and the West Bromwich Albion captain Curtis Davies, who were both targets for Allardyce's predecessor, Glenn Roeder. But, having missed out on Talal Ben Haim, the Bolton Wanderers defender who was out of contract and who has joined Chelsea, they are looking for more experienced players such as the Czech Republic international David Rozehnal, who plays for Paris St- Germain and is available for around £3m. He is also toying with the idea of offloading Kieron Dyer, whom he regards as unreliable and who has attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, and Emre Belozoglu. Two of the best bits of news I've heard all week. In theory not to bad if we get cash and rid of the wages, BUT given how many we've off loaded and that we've not brought many back in yet, I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Aye, we're going to have to sign a hell of a lot of players this summer if all these rumours are true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fop 1 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Aye, we're going to have to sign a hell of a lot of players this summer if all these rumours are true. The thing that kinda surprises me (well kind of anyway) is how many of our players it seems he just didn't rate, given that he's pretty known for getting the best out of players if you see what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Aye, we're going to have to sign a hell of a lot of players this summer if all these rumours are true. The thing that kinda surprises me (well kind of anyway) is how many of our players it seems he just didn't rate, given that he's pretty known for getting the best out of players if you see what I mean. You can't flog a dead horse in fairness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawan 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Allardyce has already signed Joey Barton for £5.8m from Manchester City - including covering the midfielder's £300,000 loyalty bonus - having sold Parker. He is also toying with the idea of offloading Kieron Dyer, whom he regards as unreliable and who has attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, and Emre Belozoglu. so Tottenham and Emre are interested in Dyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Allardyce has already signed Joey Barton for £5.8m from Manchester City - including covering the midfielder's £300,000 loyalty bonus - having sold Parker. He is also toying with the idea of offloading Kieron Dyer, whom he regards as unreliable and who has attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, and Emre Belozoglu. so Tottenham and Emre are interested in Dyer. No, the commas are in the right places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowen 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Anyone reckon that West Ham might put up the Oba money after being knocked back by Bent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMag 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I don't think that Oba would go to another premiership club but would rather go back to Italy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 27003 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Can't see him being interested in a move there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fop 1 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Can't see him being interested in a move there. Too much gun crime like home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMag 0 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I hope so. I am optimistic in what Sam can do with Oba and would like for him to stick around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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