Milner Set To Pen New Magpies Deal

He was Aaron Lennon before Aaron Lennon was cool.

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has received a double boost with James Milner ready to commit his future to the club.

Geremi's free transfer from Chelsea was officially completed on Friday when he was granted a work permit after agreeing a three-year deal earlier this week.

The news marks a remarkable turnaround for the player, who was within hours of completing a permanent move to Aston Villa last summer.

Milner was actually at Villa Park when the Magpies' bid to sign Mark Viduka from Middlesbrough fell through and scuppered the transfer.

Ironically, the two men will be in the same team next season after the Leeds-born midfielder proved himself a valuable asset to then-manager Glenn Roeder during an intensely difficult campaign.

Three cheers (and five years) for BFJM! NUFC's side is coming together, and if they would just move Owen and Martins, they would realize my dream of a Duff-Viduka-Milner front line. Now we see how it would work with Butt-Barton-Geremi in the midfield, and defenders to be named later. Like a cheaper version of Chelsea, or a more expensive version of Bolton.