Newcastle begrudgingly sold James Milner for £15m in belief they could land Bastian Schweinsteiger for the same money, reveals Terry McDermott

• Newcastle sold James Milner to Aston Villa for £15million in 2008
• Kevin Keegan was convinced to let the England international leave after being told they could sign Bastian Schweinsteiger for the same money
• Terry McDermott revealed the manager did not want midfielder to exit 
• Milner won Premier League title with Manchester City before becoming vice captain at Liverpool 
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  Former Newcastle United assistant manager, Terry McDermott, has shed light on how the Magpies let James Milner go in the hope of signing Bastian Schweinsteiger.
  McDermott was Kevin Keegan's No 2 at St James' Park when the club sold Milner on - prompting Keegan to leave days later over concerns at how the club was being managed.
  'We were actually at the club when we sold him [Milner], myself and Kevin Keegan,' McDermott told the Mirror.
  

  
  

  Newcastle sold James Milner for £15m in 2008 after being told they could get Bastian Schweinsteiger for the same fee
  

  The Toon club were then told that the German superstar, pictured celebrating a goal at Euro 2008, would cost more than three times that amount
  'We sold him for £15million. The story goes – and this is a true story – that we didn't want him to leave but we needed to get other players in because we'd had a bid of £15million.
  'Kevin said 'if we sell him for £15million, how are we going to replace him?'
  

  Schweinsteiger has been outcast at Manchester United after struggling with form and fitness
  

  
  

  Kevin Keegan (left), pictured with assistant Terry McDermott (centre), left Newcastle shortly after Milner was sold over concerns at how the club was being run

  MILNER LEAGUE  

  Appearances: 6

  Goals: 4

  Shot accuracy: 100 per cent

  Chances created: 13

  Pass accuracy: 87 per cent

  Duels won: 42 per cent

  Yellow/red cards: 1/0
  'They said 'we've already got one – Schweinsteiger'. He's at Man United now but seven or eight years ago he was a superstar and they said we could get him.
  'The idea of accepting the bid of £15million for Milner, which was a lot of money then, and then we're looking to get Schweinsteiger - it's a no brainer.
  'But after he's signed for Villa – the day after – we're trying to sign Schweinsteiger and the answer was 'absolutely no chance, it will cost you £50million if you wanted to buy Schweinsteiger'.
  

  Milner is currently starring at Liverpool this season in an unfamiliar left-back position
  'So we had no one to replace him. But he was irreplaceable anyway because he could play anywhere.'
  Milner went on to sign for Villa in 2008, before moving on to Manchester City where he won the Premier League under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini.
  The England midfielder then signed for Liverpool last year on a free transfer and has since established himself in Jurgen Klopp's team as the club's vice-captain.