NOW EX-LEEDS OWNER CELLINO SLAMS MONK OVER AGENT
GARRY MONK has come under fire from another ex-employer, who also claims to have had concerns about the manager’s relationship with agent James Featherstone.
Sportsmail revealed yesterday the explosive details of an investigation being conducted by Middlesbrough into transfer deals completed while Monk was their manager in 2017, and in particular one deal — involving Cyrus Christie’s move from Derby County — where Featherstone was acting for the selling club. Last month Birmingham City told this newspaper that it was a dispute over Featherstone’s involvement in their transfer business that led to Monk’s dismissal as manager. Now former Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino claims he banned Featherstone from the club because he felt he was trying to become too involved. Monk and Featherstone deny any wrongdoing and yesterday Featherstone declined to comment in response to the controversial Cellino, who during his tenure at Elland Road was banned twice by the Football League. But speaking yesterday about Featherstone and Monk, who was manager at Leeds from June 2016 to May 2017, Cellino said: ‘After two or three months I kicked him out of the club because I didn’t like the way he worked. ‘I never allowed Featherstone near the club. I told Monk that he was a coach, and the players belonged to the club. ‘I never let Monk get involved with transfers because every player he wanted to sign he wanted to do through Featherstone. Monk came to me with a player from Brentford he wanted to sign. I asked him who the agent was. He said, “It doesn’t matter, I will make the transfer”. Then I found out the agent was Featherstone and they did the deal directly with him. Featherstone said he was his player, but I found out he wasn’t. ‘Featherstone asked me for commission fees for doing Monk’s contract, and I didn’t give him anything. We had a big fight because I refused to pay his fees. I said to him, “You work for Garry Monk? Ask him to pay the fees”. He was always trying to get Featherstone involved in deals. Remember Mo Barrow from Swansea? I didn’t want to sign him because the number 17 brings me bad luck, but Garry wanted to bring him in. We had a fight about Barrow, but Featherstone did the transfer. ‘After three months he brought another assistant coach, James Beattie. Then I found out that he was a client of Featherstone’s agency. After that I cut him out. I didn’t allow him to come to the games, I didn’t allow him to come to training. I didn’t want him at the club any more because he kept messing up.’ Featherstone represented Beattie as a player but the former striker, who was also Monk’s assistant at Birmingham, is not listed as a client on the website for Featherstone’s agency. And while Featherstone would not respond to Cellino’s claims, it is understood he was not paid a fee for the Barrow loan and did not complete any deals linked to Leeds while Monk was manager.
GARRY MONK, THE AGENT AND THE WIPED LAPTOP Revelations iin yesterday Sportsmail