And former Toon winger Rob Lee says Ashley must have mixed feelings about Luka Modric - because the club OWNS missed out on him - but the one he SUPPORTS struck lucky.
Rob Lee: "It is not so long ago that Newcastle tried and failed to bring Luka Modric to St James’ Park and I bet Mike Ashley must be kicking himself that he did not push the boat out when Spurs beat them to his signature when he was at Croatia Zagreb.
"Modric was going for £18 million back then when Kevin Keegan was in charge and he has shown what a fantastic talent he is although I’m not so sure that Spurs were right to turn down that £40-million bid for him from Chelsea.
"Modric must be very difficult to play against because he turns up here, there and everywhere in midfield as the Tottenham playmaker and so Cheik Tiote will have his work cut out as he tries to restrict him and he could be pulled all over the place and out of position and that could pave the way for Rafael van der Vaart to exploit the gaps between the Spurs attack and the midfield as he did against Arsenal."