Your Newcastle United transfer round-up for Sunday, September 11.
Ex-Newcastle target set for Rayo Vallecano return
Espanyol forward Raul de Tomas will return to his former club Rayo Vallecano, according to reports from Spanish outlet Marca. The reports adds that Rayo will pay around €12million for full rights over the player, who would not be able to play for them until January.
COPE reported on Friday that Rayo president Martin Presa had claimed he was assaulted and left hospitalised by football agent Ivan Garcia as he negotiated a deal to sign de Tomas last month.
It has been reported that Presa has pressed charges against Garcia for headbutting him during a meeting in Madrid in August. Nonetheless, de Tomas is still expected to join Rayo, ultimately ending his chances of earning a place in the Spain squad for this winter’s World Cup.
De Tomas was previously linked with a move to Newcastle United this summer but the Magpies subsequently signed Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for a club record fee in the region of £60million.
Barkley linked with Newcastle before Nice move
Ross Barkley was linked with a move to Newcastle before he decided to join French Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice. He had his contract at Chelsea mutually terminated towards the end of the summer transfer window and was available as a free agent.
Newcastle and Celtic were among the clubs linked with the 28-year-old before he arrived in France. He joins a number of former Premier League stars at Nice, including ex-Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and Wales international Aaron Ramsey, both of whom joined on permanent deals this summer.
Nicolas Pepe and Joe Bryan also joined the Eaglets on loan from Arsenal and Fulham respectively during the summer transfer window.
Ex-Newcastle full-back Davide Santon retires
Former Newcastle United left-back Davide Santon has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 31. Santon was part of the side that finished fifth in the Premier League under Alan Pardew in 2011-12.
Arriving from Inter Milan for £5million, the Italian was tasked with replacing Jose Enrique - who had recently left for Liverpool. Newcastle United fans were impressed with Santon’s marauding runs from left-back and he quickly became a first-team stalwart.
However, a knee injury caused him to lose his place to the more defensively-astute Paul Dummett in 2014 - and his career never recovered. Despite a move back to Inter Milan, Santon's knee troubles continued to plague him and he never made more than 17 league appearances in a single season again.
The decision to call time on a once-promising career came after failing to make a single appearance for Jose Mourinho’s Roma last season. Santon was released from his contract in May and, after three months of reflection, cited injuries as his reason to retire.
Santon said: “I am forced to stop playing,” the Italian said. “Not for not having had offers, not for anything else, but because my body, with so many injuries in the past, can’t take it anymore. I am forced to do it. I don’t want to, but I have to.”
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