A intriguing piece on the transfer front has emerged from The Chronicle’s Mark Douglas today.
He writes that Newcastle have identified added energy and ‘legs’ in midfield as one of their top priorities this summer, with the arrival of a new striker also high on Steve Bruce’s agenda.
Douglas then names FOUR players who’ve been identified as targets – Aston Villa’s John McGinn, Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, recently released Nice midfielder Arnaud Lusamba and formerly linked Lille star Boubakary Soumaré.
Here’s a snippet from his latest piece for The Chronicle:
Newcastle United want to add legs in midfield as a priority in the upcoming transfer window.
The club are approaching the transfer window as if the current hierarchy will be in charge – a necessary move. And there are funds and some wiggle room in the wage budget.
Nice midfielder Arnaud Lusamba is a possible target as United, who still covet Boubakary Soumaré – the Lille man. A box-to-box midfielder who can help Newcastle control the game is seen as a priority.
The club also need a striker but the transfer budget has been impacted by the coronavirus. Callum Wilson, of Bournemouth, and Aston Villa’s John McGinn have also been mentioned.
McGinn is a player Bruce brought to Villa a few years ago and could certainly add energy and an added goal threat to our midfield, however he seems like a player we’d do well to sign unless they suffer relegation tomorrow.
As for Callum Wilson, he could be just the sort of proven striker we need, but there’ll be plenty clubs in the running to sign both him and recently linked Josh King this summer.
Arnaud Lusamba is believed to have held talks with the club following his release from Nice earlier this summer. Considering we’ll be on a budget this summer, his arrival on a free seems a little more likely than a big money move for Soumare – a player we were believed to have bid £35m to sign back in January!
The highly-rated Frenchman, Wilson and McGinn would all be strong additions, however all three would surely demand a fee of £20m plus.
Even if COVID-19 has forced the market to crash, meaning prices will go down, Bruce’s comments about us having to ‘cut our cloth accordingly’ after feeling the financial effects of this global pandemic make me unsure if we’ll have the money (or appetite under Ashley) to make several big money signings.
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If you’re on a budget you won’t be signing McGinn, Villa will demand a very high price for him even if relegated. If the Saudi tales over them maybe…… but presumably you’d be looking elsewhere at that point
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