Happy new year?
The priorities for United in the transfer window: SPORT
NEWCASTLE United’s alarming start to the Premier League campaign has already left fans desperately hoping the Magpies will invest during the January transfer window.
Having made a significant net profit during the summer trading period, Newcastle look short of genuine Premier League quality in pivotal positions - something they need to address come the turn of the year.
Manager Rafa Benitez has already stressed that in recent weeks given United are second-bottom of the table and winless so far this term.
Last season, Newcastle were embroiled in a relegation scrap until the arrival on loan of Martin Dubravka and Kenedy in January helped propel them up to an eventual 10th-placed finish.
Such shrewd signings will likely be required during this mid-season window if United are to ensure survival - and the re-emergence of Mike Ashley at live matches in recent weeks has left fans wondering if the owner is considering handing Benitez greater funds to spend in the new year.
At last month’s Fans Forum meeting, the club insisted they never intended to make a new profit during the summer window and there is money available to spend.
However, they also stressed January is about adding quality, not quantity - and their preference is still to “secure exciting, high-quality young players who can make a difference.”
With that in mind, and given the fact Benitez has held meetings with his recruitment team in recent weeks to plan ahead to January, where will Newcastle be looking to strengthen during the mid-season window?
Here, NUFC writer Chris Waugh picks out five positions he believes should be prominent on Benitez’s January shopping list...
An offensive left-back
Benitez has made no secret of the fact he has been desperate to bring in full-back cover for each of the past three windows.
During the summer, moves for Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico and Paris Saint-Germain’s Stanley N’Soki were sought but neither was eventually signed.
Newcastle’s failure to add increased depth to their defensive flanks has already left the Magpies exposed so far this season - with Kenedy, Isaac Hayden and Ciaran Clark among the players who have had to cover in as makeshift leftbacks.
With Javier Manquillo - who is predominantly a right-back and, if truth be told, not Premier League quality - having also had to fill in when Paul Dummett has been injured, the left defensive flank is one which opposition sides have identified as one of United’s main weaknesses - and they have looked to exploit it.
During last month’s Fans Forum, the Newcastle hierarchy admitted full-back cover had been sought during the summer - and added “an offensive left-back to provide competition for Dummett remains on the club’s radar for the January transfer window.”
That is exactly what Benitez wants, too. Dummett is still an integral member of the first-team squad but the Newcastle manager desires an attacking alternative to add
greater depth and also variety to the position.
A central-midfield option
While Mikel Merino’s departure during the summer window was unavoidable given the presence of a release clause in his Magpies’ contract, the Spaniard’s exit has left United looking decidedly weak in a position in which they formerly appeared strong.
Jonjo Shelvey and Mo Diame are Newcastle’s first-choice midfielders and, while both are Premier League quality, there is little below the pair - while the latter is also 31 and needs a longterm understudy.
Hayden, meanwhile, has gone backwards this year.
Following a promising debut
Premier League campaign, the 23-year-old has been affected by personal circumstance and handed in a transfer request during the summer.
The want-away midfielder has only played 111 minutes of football this season, received a silly red card against Cardiff City and seemingly Benitez is struggling to trust him.
Then there is Ki Sung-yueng, who joined the Magpies on a free transfer as a replacement for Merino - yet the South Korean has barely featured this term, with whispers the 29-year-old’s lack of mobility has seen him fall down the pecking order.
So short is Benitez in midfield he has kept Sean Longstaff on Tyneside, even though a loan move to Portsmouth was all but sealed. Benitez rates the 20-year-old but knows Longstaff’s lack of top-flight experience means he can only be used sparingly.
As a result, Newcastle need an allaction midfielder who can bring dynamism to their engine room. At the moment, Shelvey and Diame have little substantive competition for a starting berth - and that must change if United are to grind out enough results in order to pull clear of danger.
A creative midfielder
Benitez has wanted to sign an attacking midfielder for the best part of two years but Newcastle have yet to part with the funds necessary to bring in such a creative player.
You need only look at how James Maddison controlled the game for Leicester City at St James’ Park earlier this season to see how valuable such a player is in the Premier League.
Aside from Ayoze Perez - who, although Benitez rates him highly, is a player who divides opinion among Newcastle’s fanbase - there are few out-and-out No 10 options in the United squad.
Even Perez is not an orthodox No 10 - but Benitez values his intelligence and movement.
Yoshinori Muto could be utilised as a second-striker but the Japan international’s main strengths are pace and movement - while Kenedy and Matt Ritchie have been experimented with in the No 10 role too.
What Newcastle lack is a creative midfielder who can play cute passes, dissect opposition defences and provide both assists and goals.
They do not have a Maddisonstyle player or someone who operates in the David Silva mould.
Valon Bersiha, who joined Lazio from Red Bull Salzburg during the summer, had been one of the attacking-midfielders on Newcastle’s radar - and if United are to start regularly breaking down stubborn topflight defences they need greater ingenuity from central areas.
A pacy winger
Eyebrows were understandably raised on Tyneside during the summer when Matt Ritchie was heavily linked with a move away, given the Scotland international’s importance to the United side.
Ideally, Benitez did not want to sell Ritchie. The Spaniard did want to bring Andros Townsend back to Tyneside but he wanted to provide greater competition for Ritchie down the flank.
However, the finances the manager was afforded ensured he could not bring Townsend in without allowing Ritchie to depart - and so it was a move Benitez considered.
What the Spaniard wants is variety in the wide positions - and, ideally, depth.
While Ritchie offers endeavour and workrate out wide, Kenedy brings unpredictability and gamechanging ability. Jacob Murphy offers pace and directness, while Christian Atsu should do likewise.
Neither Murphy nor Atsu have yet convinced Benitez they can regularly operate in the top flight and so a quick wideman who can be direct and effective on the counter-attack is likely to be in the Spaniard’s thoughts.
West Bromwich Albion’s Oliver Burke has been linked to the Magpies, as has Galatasaray’s Garry Rodrigues - and, if Benitez is given money to spend in January, it would come as no surprise if a new winger arrived.
A proven top-flight goalscorer
The obvious one. For years on end now, Newcastle have needed to sign a proven goal-scorer but they have yet to part with the necessary funds to do so.
At last month’s Fans Forum, the United hierarchy claimed the funds - and willingness - had been there for Newcastle to finally break their 13-and-a-half-year-old club transfer record.
Yet, despite a club-record bid for Alassane Plea, an expensive striker signing did not arrive.
Muto did join from Mainz in a £9.5million deal but the Japan international had actually been a target for Benitez during the mid-season window last term rather than the summer, while Salomon Rondon came in on a season-long loan.
Newcastle were unwilling to pay the £16.5m release clause in the Venezuelan’s West Brom contract and instead had to send Dwight Gayle on loan to the Hawthorns in a bespoke swap deal - the Magpies criticised for such a deal.
In theory, however, that should mean United do have funds to spend on a proven top-flight goalscorer in January.
Particularly given the fact Aleksandsar Mitrovic was sold for an initial £22m, even if that fee is being received in instalments.
The problem Newcastle will face is prices inflate even further during the mid-season trading period, while forwards may be put off joining the Magpies if they appear to be in serious relegation trouble.
However, if Benitez could be afforded one player in January, my own personal opinion is he would choose to sign a proven top-flight goalscorer.
Joselu, Rondon and Muto are all valued members of Benitez’s squad, but none are likely to score 15 goals a season.
That is one of the reasons why Newcastle are in such trouble.
The problem Newcastle will face is that prices inflate even further during the mid-season trading period