Premier League chief with a Geordie ‘affinity’ could hold key to Newcastle’s statement transfer
Newcastle United have made an ambitious move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and Eagles chairman Steve Parish could yet have a big say on the transfer
Newcastle United’s talks with Crystal Palace are progressing after the Magpies launched an ambitious move for Marc Guehi.
Guehi has less than two years left on his contract at Selhurst Park, which has given Newcastle encouragement, as the England international’s value will only dwindle if he does not sign a new deal with Crystal Palace. However, by the same token, Guehi’s stock has never been higher following a series of impressive displays by the defender at the Euros.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman will know that. Although Parish has had businesses in Newcastle over the years and previously spoke of his ‘affinity’ with the city – even calling the club’s transformation a ‘fantastic news story for football’ – the Londoner is a tough negotiator behind the scenes.
In fact, since Parish’s consortium bought Crystal Palace, in 2010, the Eagles have banked huge profits from a number of deals, including £50.8m for Michael Olise, who admittedly had a release clause; £50m for Aaron Wan-Bissaka; £25m for Yannick Bolasie; and £15m for Wilfried Zaha, who was later re-signed by Palace for a fraction of that price.
Crystal Palace have certainly never been afraid to hold firm if the club’s valuations have not been met. Parish even boldly went on national radio to assure Crystal Palace fans that there was ‘no chance’ of Zaha leaving after rejecting a ‘ridiculous’ £12m bid from Spurs during the forward’s second spell at the club in 2016.
Talks with Newcastle have fared better but Parish, ironically, is an admirer of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who is one of the toughest executives in football, and the boyhood Crystal Palace fan has been heavily influenced by his late father, Alf, who was a senior negotiator for print union Slade.
“One of the things is that we never accepted the status quo in my house,” he previously said. “Everything was always questioned and challenged…certainly negotiating, disagreeing, arguing. I did a politics A-level. We were quite a political household in terms of discussing things. You’re a product of your upbringing and all of those things helped.
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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe is facing a big decision on Matt Targett ahead of this month’s transfer deadline.
The former Aston Villa star has not featured in pre-season yet with Northern Ireland international Jamal Lewis nudging past him in the pecking order this summer. Targett has not played for Newcastle since last November when he went off with a hamstring injury in the Carabao Cup win at Old Trafford.
He was not on the plane for pre-season trips to both Germany and then Japan last week after staying behind to work on fitness and there are just two pre-season matches left against Girona and Brest on Friday and Saturday. Howe hinted last week that he could not guarantee Lewis a game this season and the ex-Norwich City star could look elsewhere for opportunities.
And Targett finds himself in a similar situation as Lewis Hall emerges as a leading contender to be the number 1 left-back at Newcastle. Dan Burn may also find himself back in the running to play left-back with Lloyd Kelly, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth scrapping for a place in the heart of defence for the first few games of the season.
Howe spoke of Targett’s issues back in January and then insisted he was still a key player for him when fit. With Celtic linked for Targett then, Howe said: “Matt is injured and has still got some way to go in his injury. He’s also a big part of what we’re doing here.”
But the squad shape is changing gradually at Newcastle and the arrival of another top notch centre-back could mean tricky decisions have to be made. Howe’s squad is currently overloaded by three stars with a clutch of players set to be disappointed when the Premier League squad list goes in.
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