Steve Bruce has confirmed he is set to meet Lee Charnley this week to discuss the contracts of several Newcastle United players.
The Magpies’ boss admitted that there were many tough decisions that will need to be made in the future and that he is in frequent discussion with the managing director.
Bruce revealed that the club were talking with a number of players about extending their current deals, including the Longstaff brothers, Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Ritchie, and Martin Dubravka.
“I’ve got a meeting with Lee scheduled for this week. I only spoke to him yesterday,” he told the Chronicle.
“We’ll get together this week or next week.”
“He is talking to a few of the players – the two Longstaffs in particular – and there’s Shelvey on the agenda, the goalkeeper [Dubravka] and Matt Ritchie.”
“There are big decisions to be had but that’s normal in any club is the progression through and what we’ve got so we’ll sit down.”
Bruce has been determined to secure the future of his senior players ever since arriving, with the nucleus of his squad being in line for new deals since August [Chronicle].
OPINION
With another meeting planned, both Charnley and Bruce will surely be expecting more progress in talks over some players in the next month. They appear to be in close contact regularly, with many of the current Magpies’ squad in line for new contracts, they seem to be determined to get their business completed. The agenda is clear, Bruce wants to keep together the club’s experienced players, alongside the breakout talent that has added so much excitement to his side already. There will be a sense of urgency around the Longstaff brothers’ future though, and they will surely be the priority for Bruce and Charnley, especially given the fact that Matty is free to talk to European clubs in January given his current deal runs out at the end of the season. Things aren’t going much better with brother Sean either, with the Daily Mail reporting that talks over a new six-year deal had hit an impasse. Either way, Bruce must lay his cards on the table with Charnley and make sure he keeps the players he wants at the club, by finalising new deals for them as soon as possible.
