Things finally seem to be hotting up in the transfer market for Newcastle as talk of us finally moving for key targets gathers pace.
Ki may not be the marquee signing we crave but singing someone quickly and under the radar is still relatively promising. A deal for a star striker is key to success this window and Sky Sports have confirmed that we’re now in talks to sign Nice top scorer Alassane Plea after having an initial bid of £27m rejected.
Whether we should believe this or not is open to debate, but it does seem as though the signing of Ki has kick started our attempts to do business this summer.
According to the Chronicle, it’s our first cash bid of the summer so it may be that we are seeing some movement on departures too.
Mitrovic is now out of World Cup and the Telegraph are claiming today that his £20m move to Fulham is all but done. £27m for Plea seems far-fetched (especially under Mike Ashley), but if we’re about to bank a considerable amount for the Serbian then maybe a move for Plea is plausible?
After all, it did always feel like any big striker signing relied on us receiving a decent fee for Mitrovic – and it looks like that’s now about to happen.
Feels like pace is finally gathering at #NUFC
Easy to be cynical but..
– Sky claiming talks with Plea after £27m bid
– Telegraph saying Mitro to #FFC for £20m which could fund the above
– Ritchie heavily linked to #SCFC & feels as though he'll be sold IF we agree Townsend deal? pic.twitter.com/kIgvBARu9I— Black&WhiteBarmy (@BlackWhiteBarmy) July 3, 2018
Matt Ritchie is being heavily linked with Stoke – and it sounds like that one could actually happen. As he has been key for us, for Rafa to sanction that makes you wonder if he’ll be sacrificed to fund a move for Andros Townsend – a player who was outstanding under Benitez prior to departure.
If we are also pursuing deals for both Townsend and Kenedy we would certainly look far more potent next season with some real pace and power going forward.
As always with Newcastle it is dangerous to get your hopes up, but things finally appear to be gathering pace.
