Captain cranky: North misses transfer window after Jets plays hardball

THE NEWCASTLE HERALD

BY MICHAEL COCKERILL, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

SOCCEROOS defender Jade North has missed out on a deadline-day move to Europe, and Newcastle face the prospect of dealing with an unhappy captain when the A-League season resumes in a fortnight.
North has made little secret of his desire to play overseas since winning the title last season, but despite being linked to several European clubs most recently Turkish champions Galatasaray and French first division newcomers Grenoble it was only over the weekend that a genuine bid emerged from an unlikely source Danish title-chasers Randers FC.

It is understood Randers, coached by Englishman Colin Todd, approached Jets management shortly after Friday night's 5-0 demolition at the hands of Melbourne a woeful performance notable for an uncharacteristically mistake-riddled contribution from Newcastle's skipper.

North was curt when asked immediately after the match by Fox Sports whether all the transfer speculation was starting to affect his form.

Over the ensuing 48 hours, Randers stepped up the chase to secure North on a loan deal for the remainder of the season with a guarantee to pay a transfer fee before the next Danish season starts in April.

But despite North's pleas to be released, Jets owner Con Constantine refused to countenance a loan deal, even though North will be eligible to leave for free when his contract expires at the end of the A-League season.

Constantine instead held out for a permanent transfer with a sell-on clause, a deal believed to be worth about $700,000 to the club.

Randers insisted they could not fund the deal before the international transfer deadline on Sunday night (Sydney time) and instead signed another defender on loan just before the close of business leaving North with no choice but to see out the A-League season with Newcastle.

Currently in camp with the Socceroos in the Netherlands, there is little doubt North is hugely disappointed with Constantine's hardline stance leaving coach Gary van Egmond with the difficult task of remotivating his skipper as the Jets attempt to get their title defence back on track after Friday's debacle at the Telstra Dome.

North's determination to leave also means the Jets will most likely need to find a new central defender for their inaugural Asian Champions League campaign, which kicks off in March.