It’s clear that Mike Ashley has tightened the purse strings at St James’ Park, and the consequences could be bad as far as the team is concerned. Many fans will have been disappointed to see Newcastle lose James Milner, even if they did get £10 million from Aston Villa for him, and the words of their manager won’t fill them with confidence either.

Sky Sports report that Kevin Keegan is realistic enough to know that any player could leave the club in the near future, even if he desperately wants to hang on to them. It’s been an annoying few days for the Magpies gaffer, who has been trying to bolster his squad but has instead seen Milner leave the club, despite heaping him with praise after his performance on Tuesday night. With Michael Owen still no closer to signing a new contract, there must be real concern that the England striker could also be heading for the exit door.

“I don’t think any player is untouchable, that’s the first thing I have got to say.

“That’s not to say in any way, shape or form that we want to see Michael Owen leave this club. I certainly would not support that.

“But look around football and look what’s happening, and I’m afraid a club and a manager not wanting a player to go sometimes is not enough.

“At the moment, I am sat here very relaxed about where we are. Yes, we have got a lot of injuries - that happens in football - but those players will get over the injuries, they will come back into the team and they will perform for the club.”

Newcastle supporters, do you think that Michael Owen owes it to Newcastle to stick around and repay the faith that they showed in him by paying Real Madrid £16 million? Or should the club fork out the full £103,000 a week for his services?