Steve Bruce's position at Newcastle United 'almost untenable'

Bruce had wanted to sign Hamza Choudhury on loan from Leicester City before the summer transfer window closed on Tuesday night.

However, the only incoming signing the final hours of the window was 19-year-old Santiago Munoz, signed on loan from from Santos Laguna as an Under-23 squad player.

It has been claimed that the proposed loan fee stopped a late move for Choudhury, a 23-year-old midfielder. However, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has disputed the reported deal figures on talkSPORT.

“There wasn’t a loan fee,” said Jordan. “The wages weren’t £60,000-a-week. It was even less than that – a lot less than that.

Jordan then claimed that Ashley – who put the club up for sale in late 2017, and is looking to resurrect a proposed £300million sale to a consortium led by financier Amanda Staveley through arbitration – wants the club, hit by the coronavirus pandemic, to be “entirely self-sufficient”.

“You’re moving into a territory where Mike Ashley ... I don’t think he wants to put a penny into Newcastle,” said Jordan. “He wants Newcastle to be entirely self-sufficient.

“Since the pandemic, Newcastle haven’t turned a profit. Steve has moved from a difficult position to an almost untenable one.

“You’ve got to back your manager. Defensively and midfield-wise, they’re lightweight. They haven’t got the legs, they got ripped apart by West Ham, and got overran by Southampton in the second half.”

Bruce re-signed former loan player Joe Willock in a £20million-plus deal earlier in the window.

The 21-year-old midfielder’s fee is being paid in instalments, the first of which was funded by Florian Lejeune’s move to Alaves and the sell-on fee received from Adam Armstrong’s £15million move to Southampton from Blackburn Rovers.

Speaking last week, head coach Bruce said: “We’re in this situation where, yes, we haven’t got a lot of money. There’s no money to be had.

“However, is there a loan deal like Joe Willock? Look how well he did for us. We’ve had one or two who’ve done extremely well. That’s the market we’re looking at."

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