Newcastle United are set to lose Siem De Jong for a paltry £1.8 million to a team who has cash to burn.
According to De Telegraf, Newcastle United are set to receive £1.8 million for selling Siem De Jong to Ajax this week, but with that price in mind, is he even worth selling?
In today’s market, that is a ridiculous transfer fee for the 28-year-old, who impressed for Newcastle in pre season and some fans wanted to see Rafael Benitez retain his services.
According to The Mail, Ajax are set to receive £42 million after selling Davinson Sanchez to Tottenham, a fact which won’t be lost on Benitez, but the Spaniard seems so desperate to reduce the wage bill that he is happy to take peanuts for risk of scuppering the transfer by bartering.
Make no mistake, De Jong hasn’t been great since joining three years ago, scoring once in 23 league games.
But he showed enough during the summer to suggest that he could potentially rebuild his career at St James’s Park, and offloading him for that amount is a rather sad state of affairs.
It’s terrible business by Newcastle, who might reduce their wage bill, but they also increase the likelyhood of losing other players for next to nothing before the window closes.
Selling De Jong for £1.8 million is effectively a message to suitors of their remaining deadwood – Manu Riviere, Tim Krul, Grant Hanley, Achraf Lazaar etc – that Newcastle will take any price as long as it leads to their exit.
It has already been a shambolic transfer window for cash-strapped Benitez and the Magpies, but this only adds to the farce.
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