By support

9th Sep, 2016 | 12:26pm

Former Newcastle chairman to cover £250k statue fee for club legend

By Will Butcher

Newcastle are set to unveil a statue worth £250,000 on Monday for Magpies legend Alan Shearer.

The statue has been a long time in the making, after plans were drawn up in 2007 to commemorate Shearer’s service to the club but were pushed back following Mike Ashley’s impending takeover.

The Mail claim that the staggering cost of the statue will be covered by former chairman Freddy Shepherd and his family, as they honour the 260 goals scored by Shearer for the Toon.

The 46-year-old moved to Tyneside for a world-record fee of £15million fee in 1996 from Blackburn, after finding the back of the net 113 times in just 144 games.

Shearer, who is now a pundit on BBC’s Match of the Day, captained the Magpies from the 1998-99 season onwards and amassed an astounding 520 appearances in all competitions during a decade with the club.

Newcastle’s former number nine even managed his beloved side, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated to the Championship and wasn’t given the chance to be given the jon on a permanent basis.

The statue is a fitting tribute to Newcastle’s all-time record goalscorer, nine years after playing his final game for the Toon.

In other Newcastle news, three changes are expected to be made to Rafa Benitez’s squad as they face promotion hopefuls Derby in Saturday’s tea-time kick-off.