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Keegan faces competition for striker Gomis
KEVIN KEEGAN faces a fight to
lure Bafetimbi Gomis to Newcastle,
after the St Etienne striker
claimed he would rather move
to Italy than a club in the bottom
half of the Premier League.
A day after engaging in a fourhour
meeting with owner Mike
Ashley, Keegan was in France on
Saturday night - along with assistant
Terry McDermott and executive
director football Dennis
Wise - running the rule over
Gomis.
The 22-year-old, rated in the
£15m bracket, was on an extensive
list of names drawn up by
Wise and recommended to Keegan
and, given his reputation,
the trio headed to Paris.
Gomis failed to find the net in
the 1-1 draw with Paris St Germain,
but the trip to the Parc des
Princes has given Keegan food
for thought in his attempts to
strengthen his attacking options.
But with a number of European
clubs lining up a summer
move for the uncapped La Seynesur-
Mer-born forward, who can
play for either France or Senegal,
Newcastle face tough competition.
It is a situation made more difficult
by the fact Gomis is keen
on Serie A is a strong one, where
Champions League bound
Fiorentina are among a clutch of
clubs interested in him.
"It is better to go to Italy to
play rather than go to England
in a team at the bottom of the
league," said Gomis. "I still have
things to learn. I'm happy at St
Etienne but I don't know if I will
still be there next season."
Keegan, however, is determined
to bolster his attacking
options during the close-season,
particularly with the fact that
Obafemi Martins and Michael
Owen are attracting attention.
Arsenal are long-term admirers
of Martins, with a £13m buyout
clause still in the Nigerian's
contract.
Manchester United are said to
be weighing up a summer move
for Owen, which would net Newcastle
around £7m, while there
remains no progress on talks
over a new contract.
And while a move to Japan
may sound outrageous, J-League
side JEF United Chiba are
putting together a package in a
bid to land the England striker.
JEF United are bottom of the
J-League, with just one victory,
and they have recently installed
Liverpool assistant boss Alex
Miller as manager.
Peter Ramage, the versatile
defender, who joined Newcastle
when he was 11, has signed a
two-year deal at QPR.
Ramage had been offered new
terms with the Magpies, but has
opted for a move to West London
in the hope of playing regularly
and reviving a career that has
been held back by injury.
10:58am Wednesday 14th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: Whumpie, Buckinghamshire on 12:20pm Wed 14 May 08
Good grief. This is taking some BS and building a big BS-based BS tower on it.
Arsenal for Martins: disproved again and again.
Owen to Man-U or Japan - get real.
Good article for the first half, based on known facts - but don't resort to padding it out with total rubbish from the tabloids, please!
Good grief. This is taking some BS and building a big BS-based BS tower on it.
Arsenal for Martins: disproved again and again.
Owen to Man-U or Japan - get real.
Good article for the first half, based on known facts - but don't resort to padding it out with total rubbish from the tabloids, please!
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