Newcastle United are 17th in the Premier League for goals conceded (49) and joint-17th in the league for clean sheets (4), so it’s clear they need to improve defensively.
The Magpies have an abundance of centre-backs with Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez, but Clark was dropped from their 25-man squad while Fernandez has been on the periphery for months, so a defender is on their wishlist this summer.
One player Newcastle have been linked with is Ben Godfrey, but Noel Whelan questions why they’re interested in the 24-year-old as he’s not having the best season at Everton.
Whelan told Football Insider: “It’s not been a great season for him, he’s been so inconsistent. That Everton side is shipping a lot of goals. It’s a strange route to be looking down for Newcastle. Especially when you consider that they’ve got almost unlimited funds at their disposal.”
Everton are currently 17th in the Premier League with 25 points from 27 games, having lost 16 matches while conceding 47 goals. Only four clubs have shipped more goals than the Toffees and Godfrey has featured in 19 of those 27 outings.
Whelan added: “You’d think that they’d go for a bigger name, more experience, international players – that’s what the fans want to see. I’m not sure they’d be that excited by Godfrey after watching the season he’s had – and considering the bigger names they didn’t quite manage to get in January.”
Newcastle are likely to aim high in the transfer market this summer, but they won’t be scared off signing domestic talent. Dan Burn was brought in from Brighton & Hove Albion in January and looks a brilliant acquisition, so there’s no reason why another English defender can’t have the same impact.
“I would like to think that if Newcastle stayed in the Premier League they’d be aiming higher than Godfrey. I’d like to see them excite the fans with a little bit more.”
Newcastle will be linked with a host of names in the coming months, so there’s no guarantee it will be Godfrey they eventually settle on.
