Toon must box clever to bring in new players
MAGS’ TRANSFER DILEMMA
NEWCASTLE United will have to decide whether to prioritise a bigmoney move for a striker or right winger if the Magpies are to break their transfer record this summer.
Eddie Howe’s aim at the start of the window was to bring in more firepower after Callum Wilson was far and away the club’s top scorer last season with eight goals despite being sidelined for several months.
Newcastle raced out of the blocks to agree a deal with Stade de Reims for Hugo Ekitike last month, but the striker’s representative has wanted to keep his options open so Howe has instead looked at alternative targets.
Having already signed goalkeeper Nick Pope and defenders Sven Botman and Matt Targett this summer, Newcastle are going to have to box clever to bring in another striker and right winger who can improve the side before the window shuts.
The club’s owners, after all, are keen to build gradually year on year while also complying with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations to ensure the Magpies can continue to spend in the years to come.
However, Newcastle do still have the resources available to make another marquee signing this summer and it is worth noting that Howe still has loan slots to bring in an additional attacker on a temporary basis. That is exactly what Newcastle tried to do back in January when Howe first moved for Ekitike and also attempted to loan Jesse Lingard from Manchester United.
Alexander Isak is someone who has long been on Newcastle’s radar, but Real Sociedad would ideally want more than the £40m the black-andwhites spent on Joelinton three years ago. It is a similar story with Moussa Diaby, who the Magpies have refused to give up on, and Bayer Leverkusen are demanding between £55m and £60m for the winger.
Isak and Diaby are very different players, of course, but these are the sort of targets Newcastle are now looking at: young, quick, technical internationals with high ceilings who can grow with the club.