Newcastle signed Gonzalez on the evidence of YouTube clips
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Newcastle signed Ignacio González to aid future transfers, says Dennis Wise
• Deal was to help secure best young South American talent
• Wise not convinced that Mike Ashley will sell Newcastle
Ignacio Gonzalez eventually joined Newcastle on loan.
Dennis Wise has said that the controversial signing which prompted Kevin Keegan's resignation at Newcastle United was pushed through against the former England manager's wishes in order to try to secure first option on the best young players from South America.
Keegan left in September 2008 after the club brought in Ignacio González on loan from Valencia, on the evidence of YouTube clips and as a "favour" to two South American agents. Wise, who was then Newcastle's executive director (football), said the club had gone ahead with the deal despite Keegan's misgivings because of potential future benefits.
He added that Newcastle's owner, Mike Ashley, had supported the move and that no regulations had been breached. The club were on Friday asked by an independent arbitration panel to pay Keegan £2m for constructive dismissal.
"The long-term idea of the relationship [with the agents] was we were going to get first option on the best South American kids," Wise said. "That was important to Newcastle. Mike knew everything about it. He was fine with it. Every deal that went through the football club he knew. It's his money and no one else's. It was all done the right way."
Keegan's £2m award from the tribunal was considerably less than the £25m for which he had lodged a claim. Wise said that Ashley had offered Keegan more than £2m to settle the case. Keegan has described as "simply untrue" reports that he rejected £4m to settle.
The resolution of the Keegan case removes one of the last barriers to Newcastle's sale but Wise believes Ashley may turn down an offer from the Tyneside businessman Barry Moat, with the team top of the Championship. "I think he will hold on to it at least until they get promoted and I don't know what he will do then," Wise said, on Sky Sports.
Alan Shearer has certainly been given no indication a takeover is imminent and he expects to be working at the BBC for the foreseeable future. Moat is likely to appoint Shearer as manager if he takes control but the former England forward has not been given cause to be optimistic that his wait may soon be over. Although Moat is the only interested party who has regular contact with Shearer he is not the only bidder, and the Mike Ashley regime has privately pushed claims it is talking to other groups who have also gone through due diligence.
Whether one of these groups has made significant progress since the conclusion of the Keegan case, which led to a far smaller pay out than many anticipated, remains to be seen, particularly as Seymour Pierce, the bank in charge of the sale process, maintains Moat is the only serious player left at the negotiating table.
Certainly, Newcastle fans will react to the latest suggestions that a takeover is close with weary cynicism. They have been frequently told a breakthrough is about to be made only to be let down as another deadline passed.
There were more anti-Ashley chants at the weekend as the Magpies drew 0-0 during Saturday's goalless home draw with Bristol City, one which kept Newcastle's lead at the top of the Championship to three points. But the caretaker manager, Chris Hughton, blamed the referee rather than any distractions caused by the Keegan case, for his side's failure to win.
Hughton – who was named manager of the month for the second successive time at the weekend – has been a calming influence ever since Ashley announced he was putting the club up for sale and was not going to appoint Shearer as permanent manager after an eight-game stint last season. But even he shed his cool exterior when Graham Salisbury failed to award a second-half penalty after Jamie McCombe had slid in clumsily on Marlon Harewood. "It was a certain penalty and I think the referee and the linesman on that side were the only two people in the stadium who didn't see it," said Hughton. "There is anger there, but you have to try to keep a lid on it."
The incident came at the end of a sustained bout of Newcastle pressure. They hit the woodwork three times and found the goalkeeper, Dean Gerken, drafted in as a late replacement for the injured Adriano Basso, in brilliant form. "It was a frustrating afternoon but not once have we even talked about Kevin Keegan," said Hughton. "This club has got used to the coverage we've had over the last year. It didn't affect anybody."