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Karanka in talks with Jack Colback but still waiting for ‘solution’ on acceptance of realistic wages

Jack Colback signed for Newcastle United on a ‘free’ four years ago.

Reports vary on what wages he actually is on but they range from £2m to £3m per year, in other words between £40,000 and £60,000 a week.

We know two things for sure, whatever wages he is on are too high for a Championship side to pay, whilst we also definitely know Rafa Benitez wants him out of Newcastle.

Last season Jack Colback was completely sidelined by the manager, sent to train and play with the kids to try and help persuade him to move.

Colback resisted even a loan move in summer 2017 but finally was persuaded to go to Forest on the final day of the January 2018 window.

Forest have already shown ambition this summer when bringing in nine players, with an outlay of around £25m on transfer fees, but Forest boss Aitor Karanka has now said he still desperately wants to sign the Newcastle midfielder.

At the end of last season, Karanka said (see below) that if Jack Colback really wanted to go to Forest permanently and get regular football, he would accept lower wagers than he is currently on at Newcastle for playing no first team football.

The nine signings already made have been training with the rest of the Forest squad for the past couple of weeks and Karanka says he wants to add Jack Colback to that squad now, with there being only three weeks until the Championship matches kick off.

However, he warns Jack Colback that is there is no solution (to the wage issue) then he will look elsewhere.

We await with interest to see what the midfielder does.

Whether he is willing to put football before money, or refuses to move and sees out his contract not playing, just as the likes of Haidara, Obertan and Marveaux did.

Aitor Karanka talking to the Nottingham Post:

“I know Jack and Jack knows me and the club.

“He was really important here last season.

“It is true that he is on our list.

“We have other players on the list, because he is not our player, and we cannot say that he is yet.

“We have to find a solution to that as soon as possible.

“But if it is not Jack, then we will find another target.

“We are working to bring in another one or two. It depends.

“Now we know that we are an attractive team to come to.

“The main thing and the thing I want to have is the squad together as soon as possible.

“The club has been working really well. We have more or less all of the squad together now and that is really important – it is important for us to have been working together for the last two weeks on the training ground.”

Aitor Karanka – 7 May 2018:

“If Jack Colback wants to be here, they (wages) won’t be (a problem).

“I have said always that the wages are important but it is more important to bring players here who want to be here.

“When you forget wages, when you trust in the project, and when you want to create something special, that is the main thing.

“The players who came here in January forgot about their wages, that is not what they were thinking about.

“I know that wages are important but I want players who want to stay here, who want to play for us.

“I hope Jack Colback wants to be part of that.

“I have to speak with Jack Colback (about his future), but for me, he has been brilliant.

“Since he arrived here he has been professional, he has had a good attitude.

“He was on loan and it would have been easy for him to think about playing under his level [in the final match of the season], purely to avoid getting injured.

“But until the final minute, he showed that he was a good player, but also a professional.”