N'Zogbia's impending departure sparks North-East interest

25 May 2011 10:00
CHARLES N'Zogbia has been told he can leave Wigan Athletic with the Lancashire club's blessing after helping them retain their Premier League status last weekend.[LNB] N'Zogbia's representatives have been given the green light to start discussing their client's future, sparking a flurry of activity from four Premier League clubs.[LNB] Both Newcastle and Sunderland have been quick to confirm their interest in the Frenchman, who is likely to command a transfer fee of around £8m after a stellar end to the season that saw him score four goals in Wigan's last four matches.[LNB] However, the North-East duo will not have things their own way as Premier League rivals Aston Villa and Everton are also understood to have expressed an interest in N'Zogbia.[LNB] The 24-year-old was the subject of a dramatic late bid of around £10m from Newcastle on January's transfer-deadline day, and Magpies manager Alan Pardew remains a strong admirer of one of his club's former midfielders.[LNB] Newcastle will be willing to offer N'Zogbia a significant increase on his current earnings at the DW Stadium, and while he left under something of a cloud in 2009, the left winger is willing to consider a return to Tyneside.[LNB] Privately, however, sources close to N'Zogbia admit it might be easier for him to return to North-East with Sunderland, and Black Cats boss Steve Bruce is extremely keen to recruit a player he knows intimately from his own time at Wigan.[LNB] Bruce has also failed with previous attempts to sign N'Zogbia, who is a close friend of Sunderland's Titus Bramble, but is hoping to hold formal discussions before the end of the month.[LNB]

Source: Northern_Echo