West Brom may be back in Ameobi race

Jul 9 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

SHOLA Ameobi could be on his way to West Bromwich Albion just a week after his proposed move to The Hawthorns appeared to have collapsed.

Ameobi  is desperate to leave Newcastle in order to play regular first-team football after seven years as a squad player, but with no clubs willing to meet the £3m asking price the striker was forced to reluctantly return to pre-season training this week. West Brom are just one of a number of clubs to have expressed an interest in Ameobi this summer, but they did not follow up their initial enquiry as manager Tony Mowbray expected former Sunderland forward Kevin Phillips to sign a new contract.

Phillips, though, has still not signed and is expected to move to Birmingham City on a two-year contract after Albion refused to offer him more than a one-year deal. As a result, former Middlesbrough defender Mowbray could look to Ameobi to fill the void as long as Newcastle are willing to lower their asking price.

Stoke City, Ipswich Town and Norwich City have also contacted Newcastle’s executive director (football) Dennis Wise to ask how much Newcastle want for Ameobi, but also withdrew their interest when they were quoted a fee.

With Ameobi unhappy with life on Tyneside and keen to get out as quickly as possible, The Journal understands United are now willing to compromise.

However, should the Magpies agree to accept a cut-price deal for the 26-year-old, it is likely to spark a fight for his signature with Norwich, in particular, confident they can persuade the player to drop down to the Championship.

Former Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder is now in charge at Carrow Road and had a good relationship with the striker during their time together at St James’s Park.

A source close to the player said: “Shola would be willing to move to Norwich because he enjoyed working with Glenn Roeder and he gets on well with (Norwich assistant manager) Lee Clark, but the problem is the fee and his wages.

“At this stage, Norwich haven’t got the money to sign him, but they are hoping Newcastle will accept a reduced offer the closer it gets to the start of the season.”

Ameobi’s move to Norfolk could hinge on talks between Norwich’s major shareholder Delia Smith and local businessman Peter Cullum, who says he is willing to invest around £20m in the club to assist their bid to return to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, former Newcastle striker Les Ferdinand hopes Kevin Keegan still has the opportunity to talk directly to players contemplating a move to Tyneside this summer.

The precise nature of Keegan’s role in the recruitment process is unclear with Wise and head of recruitment Tony Jimenez supposedly in charge of negotiations.

Keegan is adamant he will not have any players forced on him by Wise and Jimenez and has underlined the fact he has the final say on all new arrivals, but he is not thought to have an active role in bringing the player to the club once he has identified or agreed a target.

But Ferdinand, who was signed by Keegan in a £6m deal from Queen’s Park Rangers in 1995, believes that could be a mistake as nobody would have more success in persuading a player to come to the North East than his former manager.

“If any player meets with Kevin then I’m sure there will be only one club they’ll sign for,” said Ferdinand. “I remember when I signed in 1995, he just had a passion for Newcastle and all the players knew how great this place was after meeting Kevin.

United’s promising reserve team midfielder Frank Wiafe Danquah has signed a new two-year contract after impressing Keegan at the end of last season.