Freddy Shepherd: “Somebody’s getting a great bargain when they sign him. He’s going to go to a top club, there’s no doubt about it.
"He’s going to go to a top club, there’s no doubt about it
“It’s a shame Newcastle can’t keep hold of him. It’s sad for the team.
"The problem here is personalities. When you’ve got as much money as Mike Ashley has, he can afford to do what he’s doing.
“They should have just swallowed it [the Twitter criticism] and given him a clip.
"I can't understand why they haven’t given him a new contract or tried to do a deal with him. It's a different thing if you can't do a deal.
"Common sense should have prevailed in this situation.
“I think he would have settled for a new contract because he likes it up here. He likes the crowd, the crowd like him and it’s sad to see him leave. But he will go to a top club, definitely.
“I think his problems are behind him now, which he’s shown in the last 18 months.
"He’s been playing really well and he’s a £6million player, without a doubt.
"He will go to another top club in my opinion. There’s probably a deal done already for him to move on.”