So it's goodbye, farewell and bon voyage to James Milner in a transfer which has brought back vivid memories of the controversial sale of Andy Cole to Manchester United 13 years ago.
The sale of Milner to Aston Villa for a fee which could rise to as much as £12m due to the various clauses in the contract is a massive fee for a player who, as far as I'm concerned, has not get much better in the four years he has been at the club.
Milner was a promising, versatile wide England Under-21 international when he arrived from Leeds United for £3.5m in 2004 and he leaves for Viila for almost four times that amount as a promising, versatile wide England Under-21international.
However, that does not automatically mean I agree with the transfer. If it had happened at the start of the summer and there was plenty of time to bring in a replacement, fair enough, but Newcastle's squad is already woefully short on numbers and Milner could play in a number of different positions. Ben Tozer and Ryan Donaldson will be on the bench against Arsenal this weekend!
You could also never fault Milner's attitude or his application and, at the very least, he would have been an invaluable squad player this season who at 22, did still have the potential to develop into the top Premier League player some feel he can be.
However, could it be that there were those within St James's Park - not manager Kevin Keegan of course - who were looking to sell Milner as soon as Jonas Gutierrez - who plays in his preferred position on the right of midfield - signed on the dotted line?
When Cole was sold to Man Utd, however, it was Keegan's decision as he believed his side were becoming too predictable. This looks like it has been made above the manager's head for business, not football reasons and that is bound to infuriate the man whose job it is to win football matches.
If the money is reinvested in three new players before transfer deadline day on Monday I'll be relatively satisfied with the deal, particularly as it was Milner who handed in the transfer request because he was upset he had not been given the same sort of contract as Steven Taylor.
But the key thing is it MUST be reinvested because United's squad simply isn't big enough to cope with the demands of a Premier League campaign, as well as the anticipated cup runs which are supposed to keep supporters believing their side can finally win a trophy. The 4,000 missing fans aren't going to come back at this rate are they?
At this stage, with £10m received for Milner, owner Mike Ashley's net spending in the transfer market this summer is around £6m. Hardly the backing supporters envisaged when the billionaire took over. As for the "wow" signing he promised corporate sponsors earlier this month, we're still waiting with baited breath Mike!
I just wonder whether the money raised from Milner's sale will be used to pay for Michael Owen's new contract? Just a thought. Let's hear yours!
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