Newcastle are unwilling to meet the £6 million asking price demanded by Bristol City for their left-back Joe Byran, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper’s live blog [Saturday 28 July 12.23pm] report that the Magpies do not want to match the price tag that the Championship outfit have slapped on Byran’s head, despite still being keen on bringing the left-sided enforcer to St James’ Park.
It will now remain to be seen whether United will step up their pursuit of the 24-year-old flyer, and whether they will have the finances to fund a move for a player who has spent most of his playing career in the south-west.
OPINION
Newcastle are playing a very risky game here by refusing to meet the asking price demanded by Bristol City for Joe Byran. They are only asking for £6 million, which is not an excessive fee, so it is surprising that they are not willing to stump up that amount of cash despite the financial situation they are in. They remain keen to bring his services to Tyneside, yet are not wanting to play ball on the price tag. There is not much time left to complete any remaining transfers, so United must move imminently if they are serious about signing him – and cough up the money required. The squad need strengthening in this area, and they have been presented with the opportunity to land a top-quality left-back, but yet again they are being priced out due to a low transfer budget. It would be a shame if they didn’t sign him, but fans will undoubtedly have their fingers crossed that they can meet the fee required for him to part ways with Bristol City.
