/ Andy Naylor, Chief sports reporter
Albion boss Chris Hughton has embraced the challenge of facing big-spending Newcastle in the Championship this season as his old club attempt to prise away one of his main assets.
The Argus exclusively revealed yesterday the Seagulls’ rejection of a multi-million pound bid from the North-East giants for French winger Anthony Knockaert.
Hughton, sidestepping Newcastle’s interest in Knockaert, has no qualms talking about tackling a club that has already splashed out £35 million on a handful of new signings, paying wages of up to £45,000 a week.
He told The Argus: “Good luck to them. They are in a position where they can do that. They’ve bought very well but these are the challenges.
"They’ve come down with parachute payments, they are a massive club and they are doing their very best to make sure they go straight back up again.
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Hughton added: “What I think that says is we have an owner who enjoyed what he saw last season and wants us to be challenging again in what will be as tough a season, if not tougher.
"It’s common knowledge there has been interest in some. We certainly want to keep our best players.”
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