Newcastle Target Yobo
Ready to offer Everton �10m for Eagles star
By Tunde Sulaiman
Struggling English Pre-miership giants Newcastle United is set to make Nigerian international Joseph Yobo the most expensive defender to come out of Africa should his club, Everton, accept their offer for the World Cup star.
Although Everton boss, David Moyes, has been quick to down play such a move existed, reports in the British press yesterday indicated that the St. James outfit was ready to place �10 million on the table for the defender, who had been a revelation since joining the Toffees from Marseilles two seasons ago.
The Magpies see Yobo as the right player to fill the void created by the departure of Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid last week. The England international's �15 million move to the Bernabeu caught many by surprise and has left a yawning game in the heart of Sir Bobby Robson's defence - void he wants to quickly fill.
However, the proud club, which is currently languishing in the wrong end of the table after collecting just one point in the first two games of the new season, has also made a more audacious bid for another Everton star Wayne Rooney.
Even though the Goodison Park club has rejected the �20 million offer for their Euro'2004 sensation, Newcastle has refused to withdraw the offer and is said to be considering raising the stakes to �25 million.
The Magpies must believe that with Everton already about �40 million in debt, the club will find it difficult to refuse such a mouth watering offer for two of their most prized assets, which if accepted would almost clear up their precarious financial situation.However, while Goodison Park boss Moyes has been silent on the Rooney situation, he has publicly dismissed the Yobo gist - an indication of how much he values the man he splashed �5 million on to prise away from the former European champions.
Yobo, who is still Moyes' most expensive purchase, has caught the fancy of such notable managers as Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger with his performances in the heart of the Everton defence.
Although the Super Eagles star, who had an outstanding competition at Tunisia 2004, told THISDAYSports during the tri-nation Unity Cup played in London in May that he was happy at the blue half of Liverpool, a move to a bigger club like Newcastle would be difficult to resist, for the player who started his international career as a right full back.
Incidentally it was from this position that he set up the only goal that Nigeria scored at Korea/Japan 2002 when he forayed up field before laying on a perfectly weighted cross for Julius Aghahowa to head home against Sweden.
In the run up to the new English season, which kicked off a fortnight ago, many of the British media tipped him as the key player in the Toffees.
For instance while News of the World's Premiership special, Score, chose him as their 'key man' and wrote that he 'has the potential to become a top defender', BBC's Match of the Day Special Premiership Guide magazine described him as a 'class act', and added: "an absolute revelation when he first appeared in the team (Everton) in 2002/03, the Nigerian defender has since endured a couple of tricky spells. However, at his best he oozes composure and his tenacity, speed and astute positional play make him world-class."
This is the player Newcastle is desperately hoping to bring to St. James Park as they battle to move up the table. Should the deal eventually be concluded before the transfer window closes end of the month Yobo will become the second Nigerian to don the black and white stripes of Newcastle after Nigerian-born Shola Ameobi.
An earlier attempt to sign another Nigerian international defender Isaac Okoronkwo failed to materialise last season even though he had a two-week trail period with the Magpies.
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