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| Ungrouped | By IanP | 01/02/2010 at 15:06 |
By Ian Palmer.
Newcastle United have signed City striker Leon Best for undisclosed fee. Best has signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the Magpies.
Although the fee is undisclosed, reports from the Northern Echo call the fee ‘minimal’, but these claims appear unsubstantiated.
Best, whose contract was due to expire in the summer, spent two-and-a-half years with the Sky Blues, making 104 appearances since his £650,000 move from Southampton. He scored 23 goals.
He made his Republic of Ireland debut on May 29th 2009 against Nigeria.
Although his contract was due to expire, he would not have been allowed to leave on a free as he is under 24 years of age. A tribunal would have set fee should he have stayed until the end of his contract, but chairman Ray Ranson has decided to cash in on the player now.
Ranson told the official Coventry City website: “The situation with Leon’s contract has been well documented. When it was apparent that we couldn’t agree terms to remain at Coventry City, we knew we would have to listen to offers and act in the best interests of the club.”