The best - or at least the most incendiary - response to the deal of all came from the official mouthpiece of Sunderland. Hot on the tail of tweeting the above confirmation of the deal - which has since been deleted after wide-spread accusations of a lack of class (the spite is somewhat understandable) - the club released their statement on the midfielder's departure.
Jack is a player we have nurtured and developed through our academy system since he was eight years old. We gave him the opportunity to become a professional footballer and are therefore extremely disappointed in the events that have led to his departure from the club. This wasnt about money - the club agreed to all of the terms demanded of us during discussions and we were always led to believe that Jack wanted to stay with us. At his and his representatives request, final talks were put on hold until the club secured its top flight status. To our dismay however, we were subsequently never given the chance to negotiate with him to stay. For him to then leave the club that has supported him throughout his formative years in such a manner, with no chance for Sunderland to recover any of the significant investment that it has made in him as a player, has left a bitter taste."
It seems it's very much the manner of his departure, and not his destination that has disgruntled the club, regardless of those images in the official news tweet, but it still seems odd, even unprecedented form for a club to release such a statement when a player opts not to sign a new contract. There's even the suggestion that the Bosman ruling should cary a caveat that the player must feel a certain level of guilt, if not a compensation package for any player up to any age for services rendered. Perhaps that's the direction we're headed. How do you feel about Jack Colback joining Newcastle United? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
