Newcastle pounce for Rossi
Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder has reached an agreement with Manchester United to take striker Giuseppe Rossi on loan until January as he looks to bolster his attacking options.
Rossi, 19, will compete with Obafemi Martins and Shola Ameobi for a place in Roeder’s starting line-up following Michael Owen’s long-term knee injury suffered at the World Cup.
The Italy Under-21 international, who is not allowed to play against his parent club, was tipped to feature in some capacity for United this season following impressive performances last term and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s move to Real Madrid.
However, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has agreed to let American-born Rossi play at St James’ Park in a deal which will run out on the first day of next year, with Louis Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Wayne Rooney his attacking options at the moment.
A statement on the Newcastle website, www.nufc.co.uk, confirmed: “Newcastle have reached an agreement with Manchester United to take striker Giuseppe Rossi on loan.
“As a condition of all loan deals between Premiership clubs, however, he will be prevented from playing for the Magpies in any meetings with the Red Devils.”
Rossi, whose mentor at Old Trafford was Van Nistelrooy, scored at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland last season before netting against Barnet and Burton in cup competitions.
