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Newcastle midfielder move depends on out of contract player

8 years ago
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Newcastle midfielder Gael Bigirimana could be set for a permanent move at last, though he will have to wait for another player to sort out his future first.

Bigirimana was signed for £1m as an 18 year old from Coventry City and they have now confirmed their interest in potentially signing him this summer.

Coventry City Technical Director, Mark Venus, says that he has spoken to Newcastle United and found out what would be expected for any deal to take place.

Venus though says that the final decision will be down to Manager Tony Mowbray, with the Coventry boss wanting to sort the situation of last season’s player of the year first.

Midfielder John Fleck is out of contract and Coventry are now waiting to see if he will commit to another contract at the Sky Blues.

In his 6 month loan, Gael Bigirimana made only 13 appearances, partly through the form of Fleck and partly down to the restrictions on how many loan players could be involved in any matchday squad.

However, any deal this time would surely be a permanent one, as Bigirimana is set to move into the fifth and final year of his Newcastle contract.

The midfielder made 25 appearances in his first season at St James Park and was being compared favourably with Cheick Tiote by many fans.

However, in the next three years he only got onto the pitch once more for Newcastle, part of the team that won 2-0 at Morecambe in the League Cup on 28 August 2013.

Surely any possible fee would be nominal and the more surplus players Rafa Benitez can get off the books, can only help him to build the squad needed to deal properly with the Championship.

Coventry have though already previously made it 100% clear that they would love to have Adam Armstrong back for another year on loan.

Mark Venus:

“Everything revolves around John Fleck.

“Gael has another year at Newcastle and I have spoken to them but I haven’t done anything concrete, just got a position from them and then it’s up to the gaffer really. I think he would like to see where John ends up before he makes any moves in those positions.

“Gael is a good pro, he came and had a little bit of a frustrating time and didn’t get enough minutes on the pitch as he would have liked.

“But Gael has got talent and he’s only young. He’s played 20-odd games in the Premier League.

“He left this club in the Championship and he ticks boxes to get the job done in this league but, again, it is up to the gaffer.”

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