Newcastle Struggling to Secure Contract Extensions as Club Must Inform Prospective Buyers of New Deals
By Adam Aladay
The futures of Newcastle players such as Matty Longstaff and Andy Carroll are being 'complicated' as managing director Lee Charnley must communicate 'financial dealings' with the club's prospective new Saudi owners.
Most notably, Longstaff's future at Newcastle has been the topic of much discussion in recent weeks, with his current deal due to expire at the end of the month. Serie A outfit Udinese are said to be willing to make him the club's highest-paid player, offering him £30,000-per-week as well as a hefty signing on bonus.
However, in an attempt to convince him to stay, the Magpies have tabled a new and improved contract offer, with the club now willing to pay him around £20,000-per-week.
The Daily Mail have now reported that Longstaff has so far chosen not to accept the verbal offer that has been put forward by his club. The Magpies' efforts to tie Longstaff down are being complicated by the fact that, as part of the takeover process, managing director Charnley must inform the potential new Saudi owners of financial dealings, such as new contracts.
As a result, this is delaying all business at the club. Therefore, with regards to Longstaff's future, the Daily Mail state that a resolution at this moment in time is 'not close'. This is because, should Newcastle wish to table a new contract offer, it would still have to be approved by the Saudi-backed consortium.
Carroll, meanwhile, is also out of contract at the end of June, but he is still waiting to hear if the club will be extending his deal. The striker hasn't played enough games to trigger an automatic extension, therefore it's up to the new owners whether they wish to give him a new contract.
Furthermore, all Under-23 players have been told that contract renewal talks have been put on hold while the club seeks clarity on if/when the takeover will happen.
The chief executive of the Premier League Richard Masters recently admitted that calls for the Saudi-backed move to be stopped are being 'fully considered'. As a result, it is unclear when - if at all - the takeover will be completed, which means the futures of the likes of Longstaff and Carroll could remain up in the air for some time yet.