Bernard admits defeat - can we afford to let him go?

Newcastle have accepted offers of £400,000 from both Celtic and Birmingham with little mention of previous interest from Italian giants Juventus.

It will be a sorry end for a player we picked up as a 21 year old from Lyon in 2000. Without knowing the specifics of the contractual differences between player and club, it is a sign of the mismanagement at Newcastle United that arguably two of our most influential players, Bellamy and Bernard, will leave St.James’ in the coming week.

It appears, reading in between the lines of comments attributed to Bernard, that he is neither keen on a switch to Celtic or Steve Bruce’s Blues. Indeed, both would be regarded as a downward move by the Frenchman who is keen to launch an international career that has so far seen him named in preliminary squads but yet to gain his first cap.

Can we afford to sell Bernard now? Babayaro is injured and Robert is out of form. Bernard has looked equally comfortable in a left sided midfield position when the situation has deemed necessary. His pace and power will be a valuable addition to any team and an unquestionable miss from our own.