Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is currently in Ireland where his team are preparing themselves for the start of the upcoming season. Benitez has already watched midfielder Mikel Merino depart to Real Sociedad and is set to lose another player in the form of Jack Colback.
The midfielder has been told he is deemed surplus to requirements and is now nearing a move to Nottingham Forest, thus signaling an end to his 4-year stint with the Magpies. Forest are yet to agree to a fee with Newcastle for Colback and would also have to work on his wage demands. The player currently earns £40,000 a week.
Current Forest manager Aitor Karanka has stated,“I know Jack and Jack knows me and the club. He was really important here last season. It is true that he is on our list. We have other players on the list because he is not our player and we cannot say that he is yet. We have to find a solution to that as soon as possible”
Newcastle have brought in midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng on a free transfer from Swansea City. The Magpies also have Mohamed Diame, Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Ritchie and Henri Saivet battling it out for a place on the team so a move away from St. James Park would seem the best decision for Colback.
The Englishman fit in well at Nottingham and helped the Championship side to a 17th place standing on the table during his loan stint in the last term. To concede 65 goals in a single season is not the ideal situation Forest would like to see themselves in and it would depend on Colback to bring experience to the dressing room.
A hard worker on the field with a never dying spirit, Colback has more than 150 Premier League appearances to his name and 9 goals under his belt. Karanka further went on to state,“If it is not Jack, then we will find another target. We are working to bring in another one or two. It depends. Now we know that we are an attractive team to come to. The main thing and the thing I want to have is the squad together as soon as possible.”
It seems that the time is now for Colback to say his goodbye to life in the Premier League as he now prepares himself for Championship challenges and the hope to bring the club back into the spotlight of the top tier of the English League.
