Not so long ago, TalkSport’s Gabby Agbonlahor was saying that players would rather take a £10k a week pay cut to play for Brentford rather than move to the North East of England and play for Newcastle, and now he’s come out with a statement that flies in the face of his own baseless argument.
Speaking to Football Insider 24/7 about Leeds United’s Jack Harrison, a player that Newcastle lodged several bids for in the summer, Agbonglahor has said that he expects Harrison will move to Newcastle for a bumper payday.
“It’s ‘Can I go and get double-and-a-half my money at Newcastle? Or, sign for a little bit more at Leeds?’
“Leeds won’t be big payers. Maybe, he’s looking at that.
“Football, yes, you love playing at clubs but you want to be earning as much money as possible.
“Maybe that’s going through his mind. He’ll see Dan Burn, Trippier and all these players going for big money wages and thinking of that himself.
“I don’t think he signs a new contract unless Leeds improve his pay a lot.”
Will Players Come To Newcastle "For The Money"?
Yes, it's inevitable.
No. The money will just be a bonus.
Granted the reality of moving from London to Newcastle over Leeds to Newcastle is a much different prospect, however, to suggest that someone would move to Newcastle for the money when you just so recently said that players would take a pay cut to avoid Newcastle still flies in the face of what was said previously.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it based on my personal feelings towards Agbonglahor given his constant swipes at Newcastle, but the fact is, Newcastle as both a club and a city offers a lot more to prospective players than just a good payday. In fact, given our strict wage structure, coming to play for our club just for the money isn’t really an option. As Eddie Howe has said several times, players have to want to play for the club, they have to be committed and invested in the project. A journeyman who chases the big paydays doesn’t fit that bill.
If Newcastle are to pursue their interest in Jack Harrison further, it’s because he’s the kind of player that fits the bill. Yes, he likely will end up on a better contract than he’s currently on at Leeds, but that won’t be the deciding factor, I’m sure.
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