According to reports over the weekend, Rafa Benitez is keen to sign Chelsea’s Kenedy, Bournemouth’s Josh King and Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend this summer.
The Chronicle report that Rafa holds interest in bringing Kenedy and Townsend back to St James’ Park, while Alan Nixon claimed just yesterday that the club was considering a potential part-exchange that would see Joshua King arrive at Newcastle and Matt Ritchie return to Bournemouth.
Three good players, but ones that would come at a cost – and this is where the doubt creeps in. Kenedy is someone we might just be able to bring back on loan, but if we were looking at permanent deals for all three we’d be looking at paying £20m a pop.
As we all know, this is not something Mike Ashley would be likely to entertain.
A loan deal for Kenedy, Townsend on a cut-price deal (below their alleged asking price of £20m) and King as a result of a part-exchange (involving Ritchie) may make deals for all three possible, however I can’t see the latter deal going down too well.
It’s been clear for a few years now that Ashley is unwilling to operate in the inflated market we’re now working in, so unless significant money arrives from sales or any of these become available on the cheap (or on loan), I struggle to see them coming off.
That being said, I’m not sure how many fans would swap Ritchie for Townsend or be satisfied by the signing of Joshua King up top – a man who is yet to prove he’s a reliable goalscorer at this level.
