mike ashley – I Love Newcastle

Steve Bruce insists Newcastle United won’t sell Sean Longstaff

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has indicated that he is confident that Sean Longstaff will remain with the club next season amid the interest from Manchester United. The 21-year-old made just nine appearances for the Magpies last term but his potential has apparently caught the eye of the Red Devils, who are said to be preparing a £30m bid.

Speaking to reporters, Bruce stressed that the Magpies are not looking at the prospect of selling their young players and he is confident that Longstaff will continue to serve the club for the forthcoming campaign, he said:“That won’t happen. I’m very confident. We don’t want to sell our best young players, that’s for sure.”

Meanwhile, Magpies owner Mike Ashley has recently shown ambition with the £40m purchase of Joelinton from Hoffenheim and Bruce has acknowledged that he has been pleased with the proceedings to date, he added: “We had a conversation which will obviously stay with us but that can only be a positive thing. I hope it continues. He wants the club to go forward. If he didn’t he wouldn’t have been here today I’d have thought. Of course, he wants more than just finishing 17th. You can’t say anyone at Newcastle is just happy to be 17th.”

The Magpies have lost key players in the form of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon upfront this summer and the club are working to solve the concern ahead of the new season. Joelinton has been bought from Hoffenheim to provide a commanding physical presence upfront and it remains to be seen whether he can quickly adapt to the demands of the Premier League.

The Tyneside outfit have managed to stay clear of the Premier League drop zone in the past two seasons despite finding themselves in trouble at the midway stage of those campaigns. The fans will be hoping that the club can avoid a repeat of the same next term.

Gary Neville sad with Newcastle United’s current situation

Manchester United legend-turned-pundit Gary Neville has admitted that he is sad with the situation around Newcastle United. The Magpies are facing another relegation battle on their hands with just two points separating them from the drop zone and Neville believes such a situation should not be happening with a club of that stature.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:”This is such a special place for football. This stadium is absolutely incredible and the idea that ‘it’s a miracle if we stay up’ this feeling that Newcastle are in this position, I cannot help but feel sad when I come up here. I shouldn’t feel like that when I come here because every club makes its own bed. They should be a club on the front foot all the time that dreams because every time you came up here in the mid-’90s, late ’90s, it was unbelievable.”

When the Magpies returned to the Premier League last season, there had been the expectation that owner Mike Ashley could go on a spending spree to enhance the club’s prospects of competing at the top half of the table. However, nothing of that sort has happened over the past 18 months and due to this, Benitez has recently admitted that it may take a miracle for the Magpies to beat the drop for the second successive campaign.

Newcastle’s recent league meeting against Manchester United saw them suffer a 2-0 defeat and the result could be the beginning of another tough run for the Magpies, given they are scheduled to face Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in three of the next four matches. The only league game sandwiched between them is up against Cardiff City and that game should prove crucial to their prospects of avoiding the relegation to the Championship. Before all this, they have an FA Cup third round game against Blackburn Rovers scheduled for the weekend.

DeAndre Yedlin Lauds Rafael Benitez After Retaining Premier League Status

United States international DeAndre Yedlin has backed Rafael Benitez to be a contender for the manager of the month after helping the Magpies beat the drop. The Tyneside were promoted from the Championship as champions last season but their chances of survival looked bleak early on with owner Mike Ashley reluctant to spend in the transfer market.

Despite this, Benitez has managed to motivate his squad through the season and a couple of loan signings in January have made a defining mark during the second half of the campaign. In a report covered by ESPN, Yedlin was pleased to have secured Premier League safety with the Magpies and insists that Benitez has had a big role to play. Continue reading