On the back of the Carabao Cup final win back in March, and eventual qualification for the Champions League, the world truly looked like it would be Eddie Howe’s and Newcastle’s oyster.

Instead, it’s been a frustrating start to the summer so far, with June filled with setbacks as we tried and failed to land a few early targets.

Repetitive transfer sagas over the likes of Liam Delap, Bryan Mbeumo, Joao Pedro and Dean Huijsen saw us miss out, either due to wages, transfers fees, possible game time concerns or the ‘London pull.’

And if a fresh report is to be believed, another player linked with a move to St James’ Park is not totally convinced…

Simons unsure amid Newcastle interest?

According to reports in Germany, RB Leipzig and Netherlands star Xavi Simons is not entirely sold on a potential move to Newcastle United.

Simons is in a difficult position in his career. Having made a big money move to the Bundesliga permanent last season, Leipzig failing to qualify for European football seems to have swayed him into seeking out a move abroad.

German outlet Sport Bild have reported that a figure below £60m could have been enough to seal a deal, with ourselves, Arsenal and Spurs amongst the interested parties.

But despite openly seeking a switch that offers him Champions League football, Bild report that the Dutchman is unsure about a move to Tyneside this summer, stating it is ‘questionable whether Xavi is up for it.’

That isn’t a flat out ‘no’, if we are believing the German media here, who also state that Newcastle are yet to make any concrete move for the 22-year-old despite showing interest.

Simons was linked last week and touted by many as an exciting overseas alternative to Joao Pedro, who was tipped to play in a deep role behind Alexander Isak had he signed.

However, Simons would not have been able to fill in as a striker, while most of his career appearances have come off the left, where we already have Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.

More Bruno’s wanted!

Of course, seeing the latest rejection – if this report from Bild is true – will no doubt sting, and have scores of the fanbase question our intent in the transfer market.

The club may be pivoting away from just Premier League-proven talent, instead looking at foreign stars with immense potential at a lower price.

But while it’s all well and good that we show interest, we have to sign players who REALLY want to be here and believe in the project on offer.

We saw it with Bruno Guimaraes and Sven Botman, who turned down the likes of Arsenal and AC Milan respectively out of belief in the Toon project, and each has seen their stock rise exponentially since joining.

Earlier in the window, there had been discussions that we cooled on Dean Huijsen over his lack of desire to commit to us quickly, and the club should take a similar approach to the wider European market: if they’re serious about wanting to play Champions League football, they should want to do it Newcastle United.