Contract signed: Newcastle United have completed ‘signing of the summer’ amid ‘£50m’ claim – Mills
Newcastle United should “bite the bullet” and pay to get Dan Ashworth through the door now.
That’s according to former Leeds United defender Danny Mills, speaking exclusively to Football Insider amid a fresh twist in the Magpies’ bid to appoint the director.
As per The Times (29 March), Ashworth, 51, may not join up with Newcastle until November, meaning he will be unable to operate in the summer transfer window.
It is claimed the Magpies have been unable to agree a compensation fee with Brighton demanding “several million pounds”.
Ashworth resigned from his post at the Amex Stadium on 7 February and has been heavily linked with taking the director of football role at Newcastle.
Mills can’t understand why Newcastle haven’t paid to get Ashworth through the door.
“It looks like by November Ashworth will have the best garden on the planet,” Mills told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild.
“I don’t understand why they don’t just pay the money. He is a fantastic football operator.
“He’s superb at building things from the bottom up and he’s clearly the man Newcastle want.
“The way I see it, it’s not a subjective thing where the clubs are arguing about how much he’s worth.
“I assume his contract is pretty cut and dry. This isn’t a transfer, the compensation fee should be set in stone.
“Just pay it. You are paying for one of the most important people at the club who can be in six months earlier.
“If I was Newcastle, this would be one occasion where you bite the bullet, it’s not going to be £50million but you have to pay top dollar for the best people.
“It will be their signing of the summer if they get him in and to be honest I think something will be agreed.”
In other news, pundit tips Newcastle to ‘easily’ sign Bruno Guimaraes ally in £33.9m deal