Bougherra next

It's looking like the long expected loss of Madjid Bougherra to Real Betis is close and Alan Pardew is acknowledging that he might not be the last outgoing player. He is also, for the first time, questioning if he will be able to get replacements of matching quality which is a worrying sign.

What will be key for me is the price that Bougherra goes for. We paid £2.5m 18 months ago and there is no reason why we should be selling him for under that unless we are truly desperate. Real Betis are driving a hard bargain because the negotiation has obviously been going on for most of the Summer. On the basis that we will need a replacement who will necessitate a fee (or big wages), it's hard to understand what we will gain from selling him, particularly if the fee is much south of £2.5m. How this gets reported will also be telling. An undisclosed fee will mean we have sold him cheap as will anything short of £2.5m that is dependent upon appearances and sell-ons etc.

For my money the Board are sailing close to the wind here. We need some decent incomings to stem the flow and bring some balance to the Summer's dealings. I read Pardew's comments as very deliberate knowing the reaction they were likely to bring. I really hope things are not worse than alluded to by Richard Murray in the Summer when he bared his soul to the Bloggers.

The long awaiting Midfield General is beginning to look like it might have been sacrificed to balance the books and will present an Achilles Heel if that proves to be the case.