A marquee name can show club’s ambition in top flight

BOURNEMOUTH laid down a statement of intent this week with their discussions with England striker Jermain Defoe.

Defoe may well be leaving Sunderland on a free, but he’s costing the south coast club a staggering £20m in wages over the next three years. Now that’s intent because this guy virtually guarantees goals.

For me, if Newcastle are to survive back in the Premier League then they must finish above Bournemouth, Burnley and Watford, as well as Brighton and whoever comes up from the play-off final between Reading and Huddersfield.

United’s ambition has to be greater than Bournemouth, Burnley and Watford. No question.

Those clubs ought not to be able to compete with the Magpies, who pulled in 50,000 gates even in the Championship.

Indeed it was that pulling power which saw Matt Ritchie leave Bournemouth to drop into secondtier football because he knew long-term United were a bigger club.

Now Ritchie will want to see that potential become reality in the transfer market this summer.

He won’t want to see his old club fare better as recruiters.

United have signed Christian Atsu, who was on loan with them last season, and have been given permission to talk with Chelsea’s bright young striker Tammy Abraham about a season-long loan.

Chris Hughton at Brighton also has permission to talk with a teenager who scored 26 goals in 48 games on loan with Bristol City.

Fair enough, but I would love Newcastle to make their own statement of intent with a marquee signing early in the close season. It would really set things up.

I know that Rafa wants that too. I only hope Mike Ashley is as good as his word in backing him.

Defoe, pictured below, who lived in Newcastle territory when playing for Sunderland, would have scored goals for the Mags without doubt.

He got 15 in a Sunderland side that couldn’t create chances, he’ll get more in an attackminded Bournemouth team, but would have received even more opportunities to net up here in a black-and-white shirt.

It’s early doors, of course, and Rafa will unquestionably do a lot of wheeling and dealing this summer. The fans rightly have great faith in him, as I have, but to get a big name through the door early on really relieves the pressure. There has certainly been an upheaval at managerial level this week – former Newcastle and Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce quitting at Crystal Palace to go into self-imposed retirement and, much less of a surprise, Garry Monk walking out on Leeds United, which is a club in permanent turmoil. Monk will get another job easily enough after what he did at Swansea and at Leeds last season against all the odds. Sunderland and Middlesbrough could do worse than go for him. Ironically, Leeds are now looking at Aitor Karanka as a potential new manager. He was sacked at Boro, but knows Leeds director Ivan Bravo and wants to remain in England. Nothing in football ought to surprise us these days.

DEFOE WOULD HAVE BEEN A PERFECT FIT FOR UNITED