Newcastle dealt more blows in transfer market

Frozen out at Villa and priced out at Newcastle Newcastle have been dealt more blows in their efforts to bolster the squad ahead of the coming season.

One of them I can understand and one of them I can't, but both aren't exactly helpful in our search to add striking options to the squad.

First off it's been revealed that we won't offer more than £2 million for Darren Bent with Aston Villa looking for closer to £6 million so we're some way off on that one, and secondly we've been told that the only chance of us getting Loic Remy here at Newcastle is if we buy him off QPR who are reluctant to let him leave on loan as they want to recoup most of the cash they paid for him in January.

Now starting with the second one, I can see both sides of the argument. Some might say that United are penny-pinching again but on this one I beg to differ and would suggest that we're just being sensible. At the end of the day this is a a player who could very well end up in prison by the turn of the year depending on how an investigation into an alleged gang rape pans out so I can see why there is a reluctance to spend a bulk of cash on buying him.

The one with Darren Bent is more interesting however and gives us a bit more insight, perhaps, into why we struggle to do a deal. Our lowball offers have upset the Bent camp and Kinnear's admission that Bent would get nowhere near the £65,000 a week he picks up at Aston Villa haven't exactly greased the wheels.

Now I'd rather we pursued other strikers ahead of Bent but it still doesn't change the fact that we're messing him about. He might not be first choice in our list of attacking options but does it mean we're right to offer such low figures, particularly when he's been whored out publicly enough for most to know that our offer would be nowhere near good enough. It's almost like we're trying to look busy rather than actually be busy. On the other hand, if you don't ask then you don't get I suppose.

It's frustrating the hell out of me to be honest and I'm not alone on that one as the vast majority of us are in the same boat. Two weeks away from the start of the season and we're still the only club not to sign a senior player says a lot to me and none of it is good. Remember we only just avoided relegation last season.

We need players soon or else we're going to struggle again next term when injuries hit or when a form crisis looms. We have no options, no alternative and whilst I have the greatest faith in Papiss Cisse it's surely not good to put all of the pressure on his shoulders?

I guess we'll just have to carry on waiting...