Steve Bruce says NUFC ‘look forward’ to signing new striker this summer after failed January bids

Steve Bruce says the club are now looking forward to continuing their search for a new striker this summer after struggling to find the right quality in January.

Cenk Tosun was reportedly offered our way, while Olivier Giroud appeared to say ‘no’ to our loan bid, meaning January either saw the wrong players being rejected by Bruce or the right players being unavailable or uninterested in joining.

Looking back on our January struggles, Bruce remains adamant we could not get a player to improve us in a market where ‘everybody was clambering for a striker’ – but hopes to ‘get the right things’ when the window re-opens.

Speaking exclusively to the Chronicle’s Lee Ryder, here’s what Bruce had to say about our striker hunt:

“In January everybody was clambering for a striker.

“And we were the same.

“It was: ‘Can we find somebody for the top end of the pitch?’

“We could not get it (the right quality).”

 “Of course we could have got a body in but it doesn’t improve you.

“We have that little bit of time now and get comfortable and look forward to the summer and try to get the right things.”

It says a lot about our recruitment that we spent £40m on a forward last summer, yet still feel the club lacks a goalscorer – which to me is down to our poor management of Joelinton on all fronts more than his inability to score in a team that hasn’t suited him one bit.

Back to our failed search for a striker in January, I still maintain it was a big risk and one we shouldn’t have made.

OK, Bruce insists there was no one out there that could’ve improved us, but I find that hard to believe when our current options were a misfiring Joelinton, an injured Carroll, an under confident, unproven and injury-prone Gayle and Muto – a player Bruce just doesn’t seem to fancy.

It hasn’t backfired so far, with Rose, Lazaro and Bentaleb helping us move 8 points clear of the drop zone since arriving, but the cracks can only be covered up so much.

We MUST get it right this summer (or whenever the window re-opens!) when it comes to the signing of a goalscorer – something this squad totally lacks for all it’s endeavour.

(Fancy writing for us? Send any articles/ideas over to us at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

2 thoughts on “Steve Bruce says NUFC ‘look forward’ to signing new striker this summer after failed January bids

  1. no decent player wants to come because ashley has fecked our club over and continues to do so on a regular basis. one minute he wants to sell, then he doesn’t. THE ONLY TIME he buys players is to get us out of the championship. when we are in the premiership he has no vision by buying decent players. till the cockney sells we are fecked all round.

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