Steve Bruce could be about to be left somewhat red-faced ahead of the submission of Newcastle‘s 25-man Premier League squad list for the rest of the season.
As noted by the Shields Gazette, this weekend marks the registration deadline for new players at the club – and despite Joe Willock’s loan arrival, there is an empty berth which will need to be filled.
Similar to Matty Longstaff, Willock was under the age of 21 at the start of the season, meaning both players do not need to take up slots on Newcastle’s squad list.
That leaves a notable vacancy which was freed up for the possibility of signing Hamza Choudhury from Leicester on loan, but the breakdown of a transfer merry-go-round on deadline day prevented that move from materialising.
As a result, Steve Bruce will have to eat humble pie and re-integrate one of many unregistered senior options at Newcastle. Achraf Lazaar, Christian Atsu and Henri Saivet are some of the options who could be added back to the list, with Liam Kennedy suggesting in the Shields Gazette that the Ghanaian is the likeliest choice.
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Atsu is in the final months of his Newcastle contract and used to be a regular squad option on Tyneside, so he should be identified by Bruce as the man to come in accordingly.
The alternative is far worse, as leaving a pointlessly vacant slot reduces squad depth with nothing to be gained from doing so and violating Premier League rules. The rules state that if clubs have enough eligible players, they must name the full 25-man quota and cannot leave a space in their ranks.
Atsu has only had 10 minutes of Carabao Cup action all season and hasn’t played a league game in seven months, but circumstances may be about to hand him a route back into Bruce’s plans.
