Will Perez’s departure cause a mass exit?

Posted on July 12th, 2019 | No Comments |

Ayoze Perez
Ayoze Perez in his new Leicester colours.
It’s worrying times if you are a Newcastle United fan. Not only has Mike Ashley been unable to keep Rafa Benitez at the club, with the Spaniard agreeing to become Dalian Yifang’s new manager, but Ayoze Perez has left, signing for Leicester City for no less than £30 million.

But will the second big departure of the summer result in several other key players vacating St James Park? Sean Longstaff has been linked continuously with Manchester United. It has been widely reported that Longstaff’s representatives have met with Manchester United to discuss a possible move this summer.

Despite only featuring nine times for Newcastle, Longstaff is regarded as a player with huge potential and fans will be hoping he can develop and build a successful career on Tyneside. Newcastle have, however, made it clear they do not wish to sell their talented youngster, with the latest reports suggesting they want £50 million – twice as much as what Manchester United were expecting to pay.

But as Newcastle fans know too often, Mike Ashley runs the club as a business, and may well choose to cash in on their academy product, especially if Longstaff is keen for the move. The youngster has remained quiet so far, but any more senior moves such as Perez may persuade him that a move to Old Trafford may not be the worst decision he will ever make.

Another player Newcastle seem to have lost is Salomon Rondon. The striker proved particularly popular when on loan from West Brom last season, scoring on eleven occasions. But it is rumoured West Ham may swoop in for him, who are believed to be in a much stronger financial position than Newcastle and will be able to offer the Venezuelan more in terms of wages, especially now that Marco Arnautovic has left the East London club. Premier League betting suggests Newcastle United are in for a long, hard, gruelling season once again. They are among the favourites to be relegated along with Burnley, Brighton and the promoted clubs, with the lack of a new manager playing a part in that.

An important factor will also be on who the club are able to bring in, and who will want to come to the club, knowing cash will be limited in their bid to avoid relegation to the Championship. Newcastle do have Dwight Gayle coming back to the club after a season-long loan at West Brom. Despite having never really cut it in the Premier League, Gayle returns having scored 23 goals last season. West Brom have already stated they will not be bringing the 29-year-old back, who looks to be getting a fresh chance on Tyneside.

A similar story is the return of Jack Colback, who was completely frozen out by Rafa Benitez. The deep-lying midfielder has spent the past 18 months on loan at Nottingham Forest, proving to be a key figure for the East Midlands club. So far, Colback has reported back to Newcastle and has taken part in the early stages of pre-season, and his future is very much in the balance, depending on who comes through the door and takes charge.

Nottingham Forest were very keen to bring the midfielder back to the City Ground, but his £50,000 wages are believed to be a huge stumbling block. The introduction of Sabri Lamouchi as their new manager may also indicate they are taking a different approach, as the Tunisian will have new ideas.

It truly is worrying times for Newcastle and their fans. Perez was well liked up north and fans will be hoping others don’t follow suit, and that a new manager will encourage players to stay at St James Park for another season.

NUFCBlog Author: Frankly Various Frankly Various has written 67 articles on this blog.

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