KEVIN KEEGAN wanted to bring David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard to Newcastle.
The ex-Toon boss, who spectacularly quit on Thursday, stunned owner Mike Ashley by asking to splash out on packages worth nearly £200million on the three superstars.
A club insider revealed: “These were the players Keegan really wanted and he didn’t seem to care about how much they would cost.
“But the reaction of the board was ‘no chance — we’re not spending that sort of money on players like these’.
“As far as Mr Ashley was concerned, he didn’t want players that would cost so much. He wanted Keegan to find unknown youngsters who would become the next Beckham and Lampard of their generation.”
The turmoil at Toon could pave the way for a fresh takeover by the world’s sixth richest man.
Indian telecommunications tycoon Anil Ambani is ready to take advantage of the Keegan debacle by buying Ashley out.
The head of Reliance Communications had a £275m bid turned down last month.
But sources say he is considering an improved offer of £300m in the belief that with Ashley facing a fans’ revolt over Keegan’s resignation, he could be more willing to sell.
Ambani’s personal fortune is £21.5billion — almost twice as much as Roman Abramovich’s.
Overnight Newcastle would emerge as serious rivals to Manchester City when the transfer window re-opens in January.
Ambani promised to make £150m available for transfers when he made his initial bid for the Toon.
Some fans, grasping at straws, hope that a takeover might even open the door for an amazing return to the club for Keegan
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The only thing Ashley seems happy to slash out (apart from spread betting and other gambling) is £120k worth of sparkling wine, allegedly.
