West Ham look in a good place to beat Newcastle to signing of out of contract Sunderland midfielder Jack Colback
West Ham have upped the ante in the race for Jack Colback’s signature with a ‘treble your money’ offer to the 24 year old. It is claimed that deal is all but certain to scupper both Sunderland and Newcastle United’s hopes of keeping the player in the North East.Sam Allardyce has identified Sunderland’s young Academy product as the best value of the Bosman midfielders around.A wage offer in the region of £50,000 a week is seen as economically justifiable for a player who would have been rated in the £4m bracket had he been under contract, and who was on Everton’s radar last season. It is believed Sunderland and Newcastle are not prepared to go anywhere near that figure for the player.
Sunderland had substantially improved the derisory offer made to Colback last summer by former director of football Roberto De Fanti.Newcastle have been monitoring Colback’s situation closely, but have yet to make an offer and are not expected to do so now in light of the West Ham development. The only hope of newly-married Colback staying in the North East is if the player himself and his family decide to stay in the region. But it is hard to see how he can turn down such a lucrative offer. Colback is still believed to be on his honeymoon and will make a decision on his return.
Former Hammer and Sunderland chief scout Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson said: “He is a tidy player – a very good player for Sunderland and I think he has really come on in the last couple of seasons” Jack is often compared to Paul Scholes, a comparison he is more than happy with.
Jack Colback Interview