The January transfer window proved to be a frustrating one for Newcastle United, who failed to reach an agreement for any of their reported targets.
Rafa Benitez highlighted the flanks as an area that needed improvements in January and set his sights on Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend.
Newcastle spent the majority of deadline day attempting to negotiate a return for Townsend before Crystal Palace withdrew from negotiations at the eleventh hour. Quite why the Eagles had a change of heart is unclear – perhaps a deal for Andros’ replacement fell through.
Some fans took to social media to criticise Newcastle’s January transfer strategy, questioning why the club’s attentions were focused solely on signing Townsend – and not identifying potential alternatives. However, news from France has since surfaced rubbishing such talk.
According to L’Equipe, Newcastle had reached a €10million agreement with Angers for 21-year-old forward Nicolas Pépé on deadline day, but the player wanted to remain in France.
Failure to sign anybody in January was disappointing, but it was not for the lack of trying. Newcastle’s current squad has ample quality to secure promotion and the only cause for concern is the failure to sign another creative midfielder, highlighting the importance of Jonjo Shelvey staying fit for the remainder of the season.
