Newcastle's top priority? - Why centre-back signing is absolutely essential this summer

The transfer window frustration continues. It promised to be an exciting summer, with Champions League football to look forward to.

However, the club have struggled to find their feet in the transfer window and it is a growing possibility that Eddie Howe won’t get the first team reinforcements that he needs.

The Alexander Isak saga has been the main story in town over the last couple of days. It has underlined the need for attacking reinforcements. If there is a chance he does leave the club, it is essential that at least two centre forwards are signed.

That being said, centre back should have been the priority position this summer. It is the area of the pitch where we are most in need of an injection of quality. Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles have all been excellent players for the club in their own right. That being said, as a collective, they have obvious shortcomings and it would be a risk to go into a busy season with no additions.

Three of the four are now over the age of 30. It is difficult to know just when they will decline physically, but father time comes for us all and that could be accelerated quicker if they are asked to play more than they should.

Kieran Trippier was a good example in our previous Champions League campaign. He was overused and his body suffered as a result. The full-back’s performance at Tottenham away from home was as bad as we have seen. That should serve as a warning of putting too many demands on a player in the twilight of their career. They need to be protected.

Further to the age profile of our centre back options, we have lacked physicality and athleticism in that position since the takeover. Howe likes to play with a high line and it has been reliant on Nick Pope’s sweeping skills. None of our centre back options are blessed with recovery pace and that is a tactical option that we could benefit from.

In the Champions League, games are played at express speed and nearly every club has pace in their forward line. Fabian Schar and Dan Burn could both be horribly exposed at that level. It would likely mean that Howe would need to give them protection and that could take away from our attack.

Sven Botman is the unknown quantity. In theory, he should be the jewel in our defence. At his best, he is one of the best centre backs in the Premier League, but we haven’t seen that level of performance consistently for well over 12 months. He has suffered with knee injuries and his recovery hasn’t been effectively managed by the club.

Already in pre-season, there have been pictures of Botman wearing heavy strapping around his knee, while others have speculated about a limp. Concerns have also been raised as he limped off just 25 minutes into his cameo against Arsenal with a suspected groin issue. Hopefully, we will get the best version of the Dutchman back, but he will need to be carefully managed and there will be ongoing concerns about his fitness.

As well as having three of the four over 30, two of our centre backs are on the recovery from ACL injuries – Botman and Lascelles. That will be a worry going into a season where we will compete on multiple fronts.

Taking all of these things into account, it is clear that we need to sign a centre back this summer. Ideally, we will sign a right-footed centre back, who is comfortable on both sides. Marc Guehi has always been the perfect profile for us, due to his age, athleticism and tactical flexibility. However, it now seems that Liverpool are at the front of the queue.

There will be other options across Europe. Any new signing can be eased into the squad, but to go without another centre-back would be a huge gamble. If they choose not to and we see injuries and physical decline, we will only have ourselves to blame. We can't allow the ongoing Isak circus to distract from this.