It is safe to say that things are not going to plan for Newcastle United this summer. Of course, a lot has been made of the club’s transfer activity. And things on the pitch do not look any better.
They have sanctioned the exits of key players like Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali. The likes of Nick Pope and Bruno Guimaraes could join them soon, while the speculation around Lewis Hall’s future refuses to go away either.
On the other hand, when it comes to replacing these quality players with top-level experience, the club have only brought in youngsters. The oldest player they have signed this summer is 20 years of age.
That is a strategy that has not historically worked. Just ask Chelsea, who are now about to sign Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck after four disappointing seasons with a squad full of youngsters.
Newcastle United player suffers injury in pre-season friendly
With the transfer activity failing to excite fans, Eddie Howe surely would have been hoping to do it with his team’s performances in pre-season. But that has not been the case.
Their latest pre-season friendly ended in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Bristol City. It goes without saying, that is a worrying result, even at this point in the summer. But is not the end of Newcastle United’s troubles.
Fabian Schar, who has had his injury problems in recent times, lasted less than 20 minutes on the day. He fell awkwardly and looked in some discomfort before being taken off with what is being thought of as a muscular issue.
Schar is 34 years of age. It might be time for the club to start thinking about life beyond him as a key player for Newcastle United. It remains to be seen if they sign a defender.
Newcastle have been linked with centre-backs lately
It is worth pointing out that Newcastle United have been linked with a few centre-backs in recent weeks. That would suggest that they are giving the position some thought, which they should as well.
Fikayo Tomori is in the final year of his contract at AC Milan. He is believed to be available for around €20 million and on the radar of Newcastle United.
Also, if the Magpies end up looking to sign a younger centre-back, it is believed that they are keeping an eye on the situation of Giorgio Scalvini of Atalanta.
In his case, it would take a higher €45 million transfer fee to get a deal done. Now, let’s see if the Magpies end up making a serious push or not.
