Newcastle make new bid for Ipswich trio
On Thursday, Sir Bobby Robson started a dispute with his old club Ipswich Town after Newcastle United made a £2.5m bid for two of their best young players, Darren Ambrose and Darren Bent. Yesterday the Magpies' manager came under attack again after his chairman Freddy Shepherd made a fresh move to the administrators of the First Division side by including the 18-year-old midfielder Matt Bloomfield in an "improved" offer of £3m.
Newcastle added further insult to injury by telling the administrators that the fee would be paid in four instalments, leaving Ipswich with just £750,000 a season. The midfielder Ambrose is valued by the club at £4m, and is also being courted by Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton. Bent, a striker, is in a similar price range.
Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said that Alf Inge Haaland has been left "shocked and upset" by Manchester City's decision to end his Maine Road career.
The 30-year-old was called to a meeting with City's chairman David Bernstein on Thursday and told he was being placed on six months' notice after medical advice suggested he would never recover from a long-term knee injury. Haaland was also informed the club would not be pursuing legal action against Manchester United's Roy Keane for a tackle that the Norwegian believes worsened the existing problem.
"Alfie is shocked and quite upset by this," Taylor said. "It appears to be a premature decision which has been taken without proper consultation."
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