All eyes are now pointing at the board and the nufc website for official confirmation.

UPDATE: Certainly a lot of confusion at St James’ at the moment. Let’s hope Keegan can carry on.  The Chronicle are currently following the story here

BBC link here

Keegan states it was his decision to let Milner leave. We’ll play Villa on November 3rd so let’s see if he’ll regret it then. He suggests three or four new players coming in.

In a club statement:

England Under-21 international James Milner today became Villa’s eighth summer signing as he completed his switch from Barclays Premier League rivals Newcastle United.

Milner, who spent the 2005-06 season on loan at Villa, scoring three goals in 33 League and cup appearances, has returned signing a four year deal.

The 22-year-old completed a medical at Bodymoor Heath this morning.

Oh Crap!

Keegan has so far remained resolute about keeping Milner and if speculation is true, it would have a big impact on the team ahead of tomorrow’s big match. With the transfer window coming to an end, the board will need to move fast to secure targets. Also questions will be raised about Wise and Ashley handling of the whole Milner saga which dragged through the summer and explain their relunctance to enhance Milner’s contract.

In a club statment, it said:

“Newcastle United can confirm that it has received a written transfer request from James Milner”

It followed on by saying:

“The club is very disappointed that James sees his footballing future as being away from St James’ Park. He is a valued member of the squad and it is only a year ago that he signed an improved long-term contract.

In an already depleted squad, Milner was forced to play a forward hitman in last night’s Coventry match and did well to create chances, however, it looks like James’ days will now be numbered at Newcastle which is a damn shame. Keegan is already frustrated by the lack of drive from the board to push several key players into new contracts and Milner’s situation would be worrying to KK and to fans all round.

On the transfers front, heading for the exit finally would be Shola Ameobi. It was a bit of a negotiation fumble over the summer regarding this out-of-favour striker but it at last looks like he’ll be on his way to Ipswich. According to reports he’s due his medical and fees have been agreed.

On the other hand, James Milner is a player I’m certain won’t be going anywhere. He’s priced at around £8m but I think Keegan’s wishes to keep him would be too strong to let him go. Alan Smith is still tipped to become an Evertonian and it seems Moyes’ tiny team need his help given their defeat on Saturday by Blackburn.

Mr Ashley, I was never impressed with the way you handled the Allardyce farce (Mort, you probably had nothing to do with it) and I’m certainly not impressed by the way you are handling the summer transfers. The Club deserves better and Ashley is failing to make Newcastle the attractive place for footballers to play. Now that Keegan has returned from holiday, I hope he’ll give Ashley a lesson or two about conducting transfers.

So what has Newcastle been doing over the past few days to improve the squad? A lot of things have been happening in the background and on players. We are aiming for Carlos Cueller, a defender for Glasgow Rangers putting forward £7m. Talk is still focused on getting Galatasary midfielder, Arda Turan.

Keegan has insisted that none of his main players will be put up for sale. I think it would be damaging if Milner, Martins or Harper decide to leave this summer. All three are essential players in my opinion. Damien Duff has had an uninspired season and it would make no real difference to the squad if he goes.

Interest in Owen is coming from different quarters. Manchester, Everton and Tottenham have expressed some desire to poach our prized Striker. I’ve got a feeling Owen won’t stay beyond his agreed contract even though negotiations have started for some time now. A cut wage based more on performance incentives just might not appeal to him. If Everton do grab Owen, perhaps we can take Andy Johnson off them to cover for Mark Viduka.  Then we can grab Eto from FC Barcelona who has been reported to be available!

On the summer transfer activity, it looks likely that Charles N’Zogbia will ship out. The French player was originally brought in by Sir Bobby Robson. He’s since then been put in Keegan’s squad occassionally, even put in defensive duties in previous mtaches in swhich he played. Meanwhile, as Derby are heading down, Newcastle has revitalised interest in Giles Barnes. He’s struggled with injuries but Keegan is still keen to bring in the player. I’d be worried about bringing in injury prone players but KK is has certainly seen something in Barnes that might be good for Newcastle.

France v England will be played on 26th March at 8pm.

Injury worries ahead of the Fulham game seem to be shortening with Peter Ramage playing in reserves match mid-week against Bolton. Defender, Ramage has been out since suffering a knee ligamnet injury way back seven months ago. Shola Ameobi finally got to score and so did Wes Ngo Baheng. For the seniors,  James Milner remains a doubt for Saturday’s match but the cover is good. Milner also managed to pick up NUFC Carling Player of the month award.

The relegation battle gets sticky for Bolton who, rather predictably lose against Manchester United last night.  Megson’s team had a few shots but it was Ronaldo who finished them off with a brace of goals to get them three points ahead of Arsenal. It means that Newcastle still can still put a sizeable distance between them and the relegation zone if we beat Fulham.

Finally, the Oba Martins bust up was blown all out of proportion by the media in recent days. Martins had to break cover and come clean about what was really said during the alleged bust up. The two men have the utmost respect for each other and Martins fully understands the reasons for him being subbed. Some fans have disputed these reasons but I think Keegan made the right call on the night. Viduka has also been subject to press tittle-tattle and he was firm in his dismissal of these stories.

“It’s funny when you hear stories like that, as they are totally untrue.”

It’s quite unreal when certain sections of the press continually try to knock us down but hey, that’s the press for you.