For some, it’s too early to read speculation around who we could bring in this summer, however there’s a few themes emerging that help pinpoint what Eddie Howe is after.
Most transfer rumours should probably be taken with a pinch of salt, yet there’s a pattern emerging in three departments.
We are being heavily linked – via a host of credible outlets – with ball-playing goalkeepers, left-sided centre-backs and strikers who are all particularly mobile for their height.
Starting in goal, we’ve seen Robert Sanchez (Brighton), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea) and Dean Henderson (Man Utd) named as potential summer targets by a number of outlets in recent weeks. The theme? All of them are goalkeepers who are comfortable with the ball at their feet.
Then to centre-backs. We appear to have missed out on Sven Botman – who is Milan-bound according to various reports – but the vast majority of central defenders we’ve been linked with recently have also been left-footed; Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth), Nico Schlotterbeck (Freiburg), Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig) and Moussa Niakhate (Mainz) to name a few.
As for strikers, The Athletic’s latest piece on the Toon transfer front was quite telling, naming Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick as players who’ve been shortlisted.
All of the above are tall yet mobile strikers who stand 6ft 2′ plus, while 6ft 5′ Italian Gianluca Scamacca and Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak – the pacey Swede who stands 6ft 4′ – have also been linked via The Chronicle and The Mail, respectively.
So, putting two and two together based on the transfer stories we’ve covered in recent months, it seems pretty clear Howe wants a ball-playing goalkeeper, a left-sided centre-back and a tall striker with a turn of pace this summer!
