Newcastle United reportedly missed out on a deal for James Milner over the summer.
Newcastle United missed out on a host of players over the summer transfer window, with manager Rafael Benitez a little frustrated with his side’s signing intake.
The Magpies did manage to tie up a permanent deal for winger Christian Atsu, as well as bring in Florian Lejeune, Javier Manquillo, Mikel Merino, Jacob Murphy and Joselu.
However, Newcastle failed to bring in a number of other targets due to a lack of funding from owner Mike Ashley, and one such target was midfielder James Milner.
The Independent report that Newcastle held talks with Liverpool over re-signing Milner, but no deal was struck after the Reds demanded a fee, rather than allowing him to leave for nothing.
Milner, 31, has a bit-part role with Liverpool this season given that he isn’t featuring at left back or in midfield, and Newcastle – where Milner scored 11 goals in 136 games following a 2004 move from Leeds United – were keen to bring him back to Tyneside.
However, Newcastle couldn’t afford a fee, and the only way they may manage to bring Milner back in 2018 is once Mike Ashley leaves the club, with Sky Sports reporting that Amanda Staveley has signed a confidentiality agreement to purchase the Magpies.
Ashley doesn’t have the funds to give Benitez what he wants, but Staveley can provide much more money for the Newcastle boss to spend, which could just give Newcastle another shot at signing Milner.
With Total Sportek reporting that Milner earns £120,000-a-week, he would become by far Newcastle’s highest earner, and whilst he still might need to take a pay cut, the allegedly imminent takeover should give the Magpies another shot at Milner, whose role at Liverpool is unlikely to improve before January.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
