Toon start worldwide search for players

[Baggio]

Kevin Keegan will start his worldwide search for new recruits this week insisting nobody will join Newcastle without his say-so. As the manager laughed off suggestions he will make a £15million offer for Barcelona's former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, Keegan revealed he and football director Dennis Wise have met and discussed summer targets.

 

Both men have drawn up their hit lists, with Keegan naming three players for each position, even though he expects to sign a maximum of five players.

 

Wise has identified players from Europe and South America after weeks scouring the globe with fellow director Tony Jimenez.

 

But while the pair's new partnership will be put to the test over the coming months, Keegan insists he will have the final say on who owner Mike Ashley buys, saying: "Dennis and Tony are not there to say: 'We've got to sign this player'.

 

"They're there to say: 'You should go and look at this player'— and that's how it's working.

 

"They've already put names forward but, until we see them, they won't come into this football club. If we think like Dennis and Tony do when we see them, we'd love to have them at Newcastle.

 

"If they bring players in and they're not my players I wouldn't be managing this football club.

 

"Dennis and I talk a lot. We had a meeting two weeks ago, took our list in and they put theirs down. They have a massive database of all parts of Europe and South America.

 

"I'm less keen on South American players coming into this country, that doesn't mean we won't get any but it's a big move for them.

 

"I would prefer to sign players with Premier League experience. I think there is probably a balance between the two.

 

"As far as their list goes, we'll be flying off over the next three or four weeks looking at the players we don't know. We know their names but there are one or two on the list from Dennis that I haven't seen play.

 

"We're going to work together. We've got no reason not to. Nothing that Dennis is doing at this club is in any way detrimental to me doing my job.

 

"We're all looking at the same players and, if we're competing with the top four, I wouldn't be confident because they can offer more than we can in terms of Champions League football and the top four places are almost guaranteed to these clubs.

 

"But they cannot collect all the pebbles on the beach and, if they're not interested, I would back us against anyone."

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=562142&in_page_id=1779

 

 

[Thespence]

"I'm less keen on South American players coming into this country, that doesn't mean we won't get any but it's a big move for them.

 

I blame Vicente Matias Vuoso for KK thinking the above

[Guest optimistic nit]

5 players. 1 will most probably be a left back. i wounder if that counts replacing n'zogbia, or a net gain of 5. if it does, then 1 will be a left back. we will need someone to cover cb and right back as well. that leaves 2, but we really need 3 more midfielders after replacing the zog, hopefully 4-5. maybe need to replace viduka as well.

[Yorkie]

The guy just radiates faith.

[LooneyToonArmy]

bit disappointed about KK not being keen on South American players. I know there`s alot of average players but you can pick up some gems over there.

[Guest f***thepress]

Cant see the problem with signing south americans unless theyre very young ...Nobbys a legend....Tino ...ok fumaca ...fair enough :  )

[Shearergol]

Riquelme? Diego?

[Baggio]

His interview reads like they've identified targets in South America, other clubs seem to find quality young players there so lets hope we can do the same, I can't say I watch any of that league or play FM so I wouldn't have a clue who they cold be looking at.

[tmonkey]

His interview reads like they've identified targets in South America, other clubs seem to find quality young players there so lets hope we can do the same, I can't say I watch any of that league or play FM so I wouldn't have a clue who they cold be looking at.

 

Nearly all the top South American youngsters in FM have moved to good European clubs IRL within the past year or so.

[Fatwax]

His interview reads like they've identified targets in South America, other clubs seem to find quality young players there so lets hope we can do the same, I can't say I watch any of that league or play FM so I wouldn't have a clue who they cold be looking at.

 

Nearly all the top South American youngsters in FM have moved to good European clubs IRL within the past year or so.

 

Lulinha

[Dave]

Great stuff from KK. Don't expect the usual suspects to take any notice like, including the papers.

[STM]

Great to see the club finally spreading our scouting network.

 

I feel fully confident that KK will bring the correct players to the club during the close season. Hopefully with a couple of exciting youngsters too.

[Guest Knightrider]

I hope we have our eye on some local talent because what I've seen in the last month in the next decade we'll have another Shearer, Gazza and Beardsley on our books with any luck. Some remarkable talent in our youth game. One striker last week who played against my nephew's team and scored 8 goals, jesus wept. We were all dumbstruck. At 9 he has it all, frightening. His team-mate, a midfielder, honestly, you've seen nowt like it. There is also a goalie out there who is very good too. Has me very excited.

[biggs]

I hope we have our eye on some local talent because what I've seen in the last month in the next decade we'll have another Shearer, Gazza and Beardsley on our books with any luck. Some remarkable talent in our youth game. One striker last week who played against my nephew's team and scored 8 goals, jesus wept. We were all dumbstruck. At 9 he has it all, frightening. His team-mate, a midfielder, honestly, you've seen nowt like it. There is also a goalie out there who is very good too. Has me very excited.

agree got to look close to home also.

[Guest Rob X]

Cant see the problem with signing south americans unless theyre very young ...Nobbys a legend....Tino ...ok fumaca ...fair enough :  )

Yes, we've had some outstanding success with South Americans in recent years. 

[Syrette]

I hope we have our eye on some local talent because what I've seen in the last month in the next decade we'll have another Shearer, Gazza and Beardsley on our books with any luck. Some remarkable talent in our youth game. One striker last week who played against my nephew's team and scored 8 goals, jesus wept. We were all dumbstruck. At 9 he has it all, frightening. His team-mate, a midfielder, honestly, you've seen nowt like it. There is also a goalie out there who is very good too. Has me very excited.

 

Lets sign them up, £2m each.

[Guest icemanblue]

I scored 8 goals in a five a side match the other week. I hope Dennis Wise was watching!

[Guest thenorthumbrian]

The club has to look at any player regardless of background, the competition for signings is so intense these days.

So the club seems to be going in the right direction.

[Pilko]

I hope we have our eye on some local talent because what I've seen in the last month in the next decade we'll have another Shearer, Gazza and Beardsley on our books with any luck. Some remarkable talent in our youth game. One striker last week who played against my nephew's team and scored 8 goals, jesus wept. We were all dumbstruck. At 9 he has it all, frightening. His team-mate, a midfielder, honestly, you've seen nowt like it. There is also a goalie out there who is very good too. Has me very excited.

 

Lets sign them up, £2m each.

 

Yeah, why not - HTT says they're good so they must be. When has he been wrong before?

[Dokko]

I hope we have our eye on some local talent because what I've seen in the last month in the next decade we'll have another Shearer, Gazza and Beardsley on our books with any luck. Some remarkable talent in our youth game. One striker last week who played against my nephew's team and scored 8 goals, jesus wept. We were all dumbstruck. At 9 he has it all, frightening. His team-mate, a midfielder, honestly, you've seen nowt like it. There is also a goalie out there who is very good too. Has me very excited.

 

 

I'd have worded it differently like. 

[pedro111]

What a cracking article, its just such a refreshing change to be so entusiastic about the future and that last sentence was top class!

[Jackie Broon]

His interview reads like they've identified targets in South America, other clubs seem to find quality young players there so lets hope we can do the same, I can't say I watch any of that league or play FM so I wouldn't have a clue who they cold be looking at.

 

The problem with South American youngsters is getting work permits. By the time they're in a position to get a UK work permit they've typically already been snapped up by clubs in other European countries that don't have such strict requirements.