Whittingham - Would be a great deal for Newcastle.Despite the fact that Newastle put in an assured and comfortable performance against Deportivo last night, few can deny that the squad still needs strengthening.
One of the areas that concerns me is out on the wing, both of them actually. Wayne Routledge and Jonas Gutierrez are likely to be our first choice wide men this season, but what happens when injury or suspension strikes either of them?
On the right, we may just about be alright for a short period as we have Ryan Taylor who can cover there. It wouldn’t be ideal, but he could do a job for a short amount of time. Mind you, I would still like to see it strengthened. What about the left hand side of midfield though? What happens if or when we are missing Jonas Gutierrez? In pre-season we have either played a striker or a central midfielder wide on the left, which is far from ideal. (more…)
Hatem tuned up for Toon?Newcastle have actually bid for Marseille’s Hatem Ben Arfa, and the player is keen on joining us according to reports in the French press.
The French publication La Mercato is reporting that Newcastle have had a bid turned down for the player who was once dubbed as the future of French football, but talks will continue in the hope of reaching a deal.
It sounds like the player wants to come to Newcastle despite interest from Italian clubs AC Milan, Genoa and Parma and German outfit Hoffenheim. Deals including those four clubs are favoured by Marseille, but it is the player who is holding things up by waiting for Newcastle to make another move as he would prefer to come to Tyneside instead. (more…)
Tom to Toon to be confirmed soon?Newcastle manager Chris Hughton is hopeful of clinching the loan signing of Tom Cleverley this week, and he hasn’t given up hope of signing Hatem Ben Arfa either, according to The Daily Mail.
The paper suggests that Cleverley could be next through the door at St James’ Park, and that the deal will be decided one way or the other by the end of the week.
Cleverley has impressed on Manchester United’s tour of the USA and whilst loan signings aren’t necessarily my cup of tea, sometimes needs must. If we do get Cleverley then we will end up with a player who has pace, can play right the way across midfield, including the wide positions that looked so unimpressive against PSV, and score goals like this to boot. (more…)
Ben Arfa - Would have been a great signing.Sol Campbell became signing number three of the summer as he completed his move to St James’ Park earlier on today.
Campbell will no doubt beef up our central defensive options and his signature will leave us looking pretty solid in the middle of defence, well in my opinion anyway.
With everyone fit we would have Steven Taylor, Fabricio Colocinni, Mike Williamson, Tamas Kadar, and of course Campbell himself who are all central defenders. Then we have James Perch who can also cover in the centre when called upon, or so we’ve been told he can anyway. So where does that leave us now? I would suggest that the centre of defence is now done, in fact Chris Hughton has said much the same thing, but where should we be looking to strengthen now? (more…)
Tuncay - A ideal signing for Newcastle?It looks like former Midllesbrough player and current Stoke City player, Tncay, could be heading out of the Brittania Stadium over the summer, and Newcastle should try and sign him in my opinon.
Rumour has it that the Turkish forward is looking for assurances from Stoke boss Tony Pulis over his role in the team and is disappointed with the lack of opportunities he has had, and if he can’t get those assurances then he will be looking to leave The Potters.
I’m not sure how correct that is as I have just read it somewhere, but if there is some truth in it then Newcastle can do far worse than trying to lure the former Middlesbrough star back to the North East where there is little doubt that he will get in our first team, and he plays in a position where I believe we need strengthening, which is a bonus. (more…)
