Do Toon have New Year resolution to cash in on these unwanted players?
SEVEN STARS WHO COULD BE SOLD THIS JANUARY TO BOOST TRANSFER COFFERS
NEWCASTLE are not afraid of shopping in the January transfer window.
Last season the club agreed a trio of loan deals with Danny Rose, Valentino Lazaro and Nabil Bentaleb.
The year before that they broke their transfer record to acquire Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United.
It is not incorrect to say Steve Bruce’s squad is in need of reinforcements.
The Magpies are heavily reliant on the form of Callum Wilson up front and need creativity in the midfield. Jamal Lewis is in need of competition at left-back.
It was a quiet summer for Newcastle in terms of outgoings, only Dan Barlaser returning a permanent transfer fee for the club.
It begs the question what, if anything, could Bruce do to raise funds for squad improvements.
We looked at how much the club could generate from player sales come January.
DeAndre Yedlin
The former Seattle Sounders defender has fallen down the pecking order under Bruce and it would appear he is ready to entertain a new challenge. Th e
American is valued at £4.5million but his situation is complicated by the fact he is out of contract in the summer.
A return to Major League Soccer seems a possibility but any fee would likely be a small one to make sure he is able to participate in preseason at the start of the year. If Newcastle could get even half of his reported value they should consider it a success for that reason.
Money earned: up to £2m
Rafa Benitez following promotion to the Premier League, Atsu has largely been a squad player at St James’ Park.
Another player out of contract in the summer, his skill and speed cutting in from the flanks side were a threat for the Magpies and he should appeal to a number of clubs in the Championship. Like Yedlin, however, he is out of contract in the summer and the fact he was omitted from the club’s Premier League squad means he will have played very little football by the time January comes around.
The club
would be wise to take whatever is offered for the winger, with any deal also removing his wages from the books.
Money earned: up to £1.5m
Dwight Gayle
The striker was central to Newcastle’s promotion campaign with his razor-sharp poaching instincts firing the Magpies to the top of the table.
That form has not quite transferred to the Premier League, with Gayle a polarising figure.
He has managed to score goals but he has also missed some big chances along the way.
Gayle has consistently been linked with a move to the Championship, with promotion-chasing clubs desperate to add his goals to their squad.
No team has been able to meet Newcastle’s asking price, in part due to a patchy record with hamstring injuries.
Gayle one c l u b’s more valuab le remains of the assets, even if he is in the final year of his current Newcastle contract.
Barring injuries, Gayle could yet offer Bruce something for the first team but also could be a candidate to be sold.
There was talk of a deal between £10-15m at one stage but the club could consider a quick £5m sale to a club near the top of the Championship seeking a boost in attack.
Money earned: up to £5m.
Henri Saivet
The former Bordeaux midfielder will consider Newcastle an odd chapter in his career.
Once a starlet on Football Manager, he has been out in the cold at St James’ Park after arriving under Steve McClaren.
The short answer here is if the club can obtain even a few hundred thousand for the midfielder they should take it. He is out of contract next summer and it is likely his reported
£ 40,000-perweek wages are inhibiting an exit. Money earned: up to £200,000
Achraf Lazaar
Much of what was said about Saivet applies here, the full-back also out of contract this summer.
Lazaar has had several loan moves back to Italy but they have all failed to produce anything like a permanent transfer and it may be a simple case of the club paying up his deal and allowing him to leave.
Money earned: £0
Yoshinori Muto
The Japanese striker cost the Magpies £9m when he signed from German side Mainz but he found goals hard to come by in black and white.
He is on loan at Eibar where he has played seven times without scoring. His value has dropped to just £2.7m according to Transfermarkt, but the player still has a contract with the
Magpies until 2022. A deal back to Germany or to a club in the J-League seems feasible but it will almost certainly come at a heavily-reduced price.
If the club can secure anything in the region of £2.5m they should be inclined to sell as it looks unlikely Muto has a future at St James’ Park.
Money earned: up to £2.5m.
Florian Lejeune
It is unclear what Bruce’s plans are for Lejeune, the French defender on the fringes of the first team before completing his loan move to Alaves.
Lejeune has wrestled with serious injuries at St James’ Park but few will contest his quality as a defender.
The 29-year-old has played eight times for Alaves this season and is likely to have a number of suitors in Spain from his time there with Girona and Villarreal. Currently valued at £4.05m, clubs could be tempted to snap him up.
Money earned:
to £4.5m.