Quick sale unlikely as surgery needed for Obafemi Martins

May 29 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

NEWCASTLE United’s hopes of cashing in on Obafemi Martins have been hit by news that the Nigerian striker requires surgery on his groin – and faces up to six weeks on the sidelines.

Although there seems little chance of Martins playing again for the club now relegation to the Championship has been confirmed, the forward is one of United’s big earners and the board will hope to recoup a significant sum on the former Inter Milan player.

A quick sale would be ideal for both parties but that prospect appears distant with Martins now set to go under the knife. The striker sent a letter to the Nigerian Football Association asking to be excused from international duty because of the impending operation.

Unless an interested club is prepared to take an expensive gamble, it now appears unlikely that Martins will be leaving United until the start of July, when the squad is slated to return for pre-season training.

Whether those preparations are overseen by Alan Shearer or not is still in the balance, with the club still trying to work out whether they can satisfy a list of demands set by the club’s iconic former number nine.

The majority of the talking and discussions were done on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Shearer was not believed to be present at United’s training ground yesterday.

But senior administrators at the club spent yesterday number crunching to see whether they could meet the demands for a significant transfer kitty to support Shearer’s blueprint for bouncing back from the Championship at the first attempt.

Shearer is reluctant to agree to tie his spending to sales, but news of Martins’ operation is still a blow to him if he agrees to take over.

It is especially frustrating on the day that an Italian newspaper claimed that Fiorentina were interested in the Nigerian forward, floating the possibility of an £8m bid.

A return to Serie A would surely appeal to Martins, who is unlikely to want to play in the Championship in the season preceding a World Cup.

But with doubts over his injury in the short term, a move is not on the cards until later in the summer.

As well as frustrating the supporters, the delay in appointing Shearer also harms preparations for the Championship season – already three weeks behind other second-tier clubs.

Shearer wants to take over and Ashley and Derek Llambias have both stated their wish to see him installed permanently but there are serious issues to be resolved. A club insider insisted that the club are still “hopeful” of making an announcement today, but a thorough exploration of the club’s financial position now United do not have the Premier League TV money is currently under way.