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@Joey7Barton | Twitter
We may just have to start a feature where we link to Joey Barton's most interesting tweet of the day. Today's beat out a quote from George Washington and some nonsense about a song of the day. Barton, ever the contrarian, seems to imply here that he may stay put just to stick it to the fat man upstairs. Quite a thought, but I'm not getting my hopes up...
Jose Enrique may join Joey Barton out the door | JournalLive
According to various reports, Jose Enrique Sanchez is just about out of here, though local reports seem less convinced than the national papers that take everything and run (see below). This doesn't seem like big news to me, mostly because nothing's actually happened and because this story pops up every week or so. Still, the calendar has changed to August, so anything can happen. Honestly, £6 million seems a touch low, but given recent events on Tyneside I suppose any money coming in should be considered a coup.
More Newcastle United transfer rumors after the jump
Liverpool win battle to sign Jose Enrique | MirrorFootball.co.uk
Some national sources are reporting this as fact, though there are two main reasons to be skeptical (aside from the normal): (1) Some reports say £5 million, others say 6, and still others say 10. (2) Tellingly, there are at least a couple of major publications (The Guardian and ESPN, among others) that are reporting nothing on this front. This smacks of an interested party leaking false information to move negotiations along.
Newcastle United Prepare Ambitious Bids for Tottenham and Chelsea Strikers | CaughtOffside
I hesitate to link to this, mostly because of the source, but a lot of people are running with it and in this case it's hard to pin down the beginnings of this rumor. Besides, Daniel Sturridge and Peter Crouch have already been linked to Newcastle before, and all this is saying is that interest has been rekindled. Sturridge would almost certainly have to come on a loan, given his £65,000/week wages. Crouch is being linked to just about every club that needs a striker right now, so there's probably not much to that either. I suppose you could say I'm in a pessimistic mood right now.