Newcastle United Transfer News: Luuk de Jong Hints At Toon Move
“The club doesn’t need to be a top club, but a good club in a big league where Luuk can play regularly and develop as a player.”
Despite reports last night claiming that FC Twente striker Luuk de Jong had joined Borrusia Monchengladbach, the player himself hints that a move to Newcastle United is still very much on the cards and may be preferred. News last night suggested that the German club had agreed an initial £9 million deal for the striker (around 11.2M) with additional payments to come based on the number of appearances the Dutchman makes over the four-year deal. It looked like de Jong had opted to go to a side with Champions League football, however de Jong's agent Louis Laros denied claims the deal had been completed to Dutch website TC Tubantia. He said: Luuk is still a Twente player. If the right club comes along then he will happily make the move. The club doesnt need to be a top club, but a good club in a big league where Luuk can play regularly and develop as a player.I cannot name the clubs individually, but there are more than two clubs seriously interested in Luuk. Luuk has taken the decision to move on. He wants to develop as a player in a bigger league. The important thing for us is the development of Luuk. Not the money, but the way of playing and the amount of playing time he will get, will be decisive. Luuk scored 25 goals in the Dutch league last season, how many more does he need to score? 35?Some Newcastle fans are reading between the lines that Champions League football isn't the most important thing compared to playing at "a big club in a big league". Newcastle United's Managing Director Derek Llambias flew out to Holland late last week to talk to FC Twente to try and agree a fee with the club that would allow Alan Pardew to talk to de Jong about coming to St. James' Park. We have yet to hear whether Newcastle's second bid of £10 million has been agreed by the club but what seems to be clear is that Mochengladbach's £9 million offer with future incentives in place (possibly getting up to the elusive £12.5 million figure we spoke about last week as probably being what Twente desire) has been agreed by the Dutch club and they can/have spoken to the 21-year-old. More developments are expected this week as Newcastle United return to training on Thursday.