Newcastle United finally managed to take a monkey of the back after signing a player on a permanent basis. It has been almost 2 years since the club brought in a permanent player, as they have been largely relying upon loan deals. There has been huge uproar against the club owner Mike Ashley, who has been accused of taking money away from the club. Despite selling Yohan Cabaye for more than £ 20 million last January, the club has not invested any money back into the team. Their first major signing in two years is Jack Colback, who comes from their rivals Sunderland.
Despite this, manager Alan Pardew is optimistic that the signing can turn out to be a good one for the club. Colback has enjoyed a lot of happy moments against Newcastle. It remains to be seen how he will be accepted by the club supporters, although there has been player movement between the two clubs in the history. Newcastle have been able to confirm his capture since he was available on a free transfer. They had to just convince the player to move to St James’s Park. Pardew says that the versatile 24-year-old will be a great addition to Newcastle, who lost six matches on the bounce last season.
“He’s a great passer, versatile and rarely gives the ball away. He’s also a local lad and knows exactly what playing for this club means. And at 24 years old, his best years are ahead of him so I think he’ll be a big asset to us,” said the Newcastle manager. Colback is capable of playing across the midfield, while he is also equally adept at representing the team in the full-back positions. This versatility could be key to a Newcastle team that suffered numerous injuries last season.