'Could be the best money they’ve ever spent' - Ex-BBC man on what he's now heard from Newcastle

Noel Whelan has given his reaction to some Newcastle United news that he has now heard involving Dan Ashworth.

As per The Daily Mail, Brighton and Hove Albion are now looking for £5m from the St James’ Park club to release Ashworth from gardening leave.

He is set to take over as the new sporting director in the northeast, but it now looks as if that will not happen until November.

There is ‘frustration’ on Tyneside that they have not been able to reach an agreement with the Seagulls, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium do not want to pay ‘inflated’ prices.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan – who regularly used to feature as a pundit for the BBC – has claimed that the new owners should not be worrying over the price and should just pay it to get their man.

The former Leeds striker said: “I’m pretty sure the owners have got that in their car in change. I mean, £5million for a man that they feel is going to be beneficial to them in the long term? It’s a drop in the ocean.

“I find it very difficult they’re haggling over £5million for somebody that’s a key jigsaw piece to their puzzle.

“If that’s they who they want and need, that £5million should be paid up. There you go, get your man in and start building for the future. Start building for next season. It’s imperative.

“Business is business and they own him at the minute, do Brighton. That’s the price that they feel he’s valued at.

“That £5million, for somebody that might be massively integral to the rebuild of Newcastle United, could be the best money they’ve ever spent.”

As Whelan suggests, £5m is a miniscule amount to the new owners at Newcastle, who topped the Premier League in terms of spending in the January transfer window, with a reported £85m forked