Newcastle to offload Â£6m Bellamy

14 April 2012

Craig Bellamy is set to be put on the transfer list by Newcastle after his bitter row with manager Graeme Souness reached the point of no return.

The race is on to find a buyer willing to pay around £6million for the opinionated striker before the transfer window closes.

But there could be few takers for Bellamy following an emotional TV interview in which he accused Souness of "lying". This came after allegations that he feigned injury to avoid playing out of position at Arsenal on Sunday

For his part, Souness insisted that the Welsh international had previously missed matches in "suspicious" circumstances and also alleged that Bellamy had told new signings Celestine Babayaro and Jean-Alain Boumsong that Newcastle was "a rubbish club with a rubbish manager".

St James' Park chairman Freddy Shepherd threw his weight behind Souness last night, describing Bellamy's behaviour as "totally unacceptable and totally unprofessional".

Souness said: "I asked him what all this was about and he told me he was upset about the speculation that he was going to be sold or used as a makeweight in an incoming transfer."

Bellamy will today be fined two weeks' wages - around £80,000 - and the first moves will be made by all parties to end his four-year spell at Newcastle. "It's difficult to find a way back for Craig at Newcastle now," his agent, Steve Horner, said.

Previous Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson has questioned whether Souness was right to go public and involve the chairman in his row. "I'm not sure these situations should be aired in public," he said.

MORE ABOUT

1970s TV

Newcastle to offload Â£6m Bellamy

Read More