The Lloyd Kelly debate
According to Chris Waugh at The Athletic, Jose Mourinho’s side bid £11m for the 26-year-old defender which was swiftly rejected.
Elsewhere, The Mail's Craig Hope has stated that the offer from Turkey was just north of £6m. Either way, it doesn't sound like Newcastle are very enamoured by it all.
The public style of the bid angered the Newcastle hierarchy, and the bid is said to be well below Kelly’s market value. Paul Mitchell and co. were well justified to reject this approach, in my honest opinion.
Why Newcastle were right to say 'no'
Even £11m in the current transfer market is a drop in the ocean. Newcastle brought in Dan Burn for a reported £13m at the age of 30 so with Kelly being four years younger should reflect in a higher valuation.
Added to that is the former Bournemouth star’s versatility, Kelly can play both CB and LB, making some believe he could be Burn's long-term replacement in the squad.
Should Hall, Burn or Botman sustain serious injury between now and the end of the season selling Kelly would result in us being incredibly short of options in the left defensive unit.
Kelly is only six-months into his Newcastle career, with limited game time he has found it hard to find form so far. But this does not mean there is not a quality player in there. Were he under contract at Bournemouth he would have demanded a fee around £20-25m for acquire his services.
The PSR conundrum
PSR has made player trading take on a new dimension as to what a transfer fee translates to when multiplied across the allow amortisation period.
An £11m sale of Kelly theoretically could mean a £55m transfer could come in, which sounds tempting and has been tempting to many fans across social media.
I've seen some suggest we should take a low-ball offer because it would be a quick profit on a player who signed on a free last summer, but I can't help but feel that would be short-sighted and naive.
Unless there is a replacement that could be signed this month at value with potential to improve, the sale of Kelly would have weakened our squad in an all-important push for the League Cup and Champions League qualification.
Newcastle’s steadfast position of Lloyd Kelly was the right call. Unless a bid that is too good to turn down for any Newcastle player, the club’s position is clear and should be a warning for some clubs who may perceive they can swoop in and take our players.
Craig Hope reports that Paul Mitchell is not expecting any arrivals this month even if sales are made, so selling players at cut price just because they were signed on a free will only make Newcastle’s targets this campaign harder to achieve.
