Newcastle United have already secured their marquee signing in Sandro Tonali, but the Magpies won't stop there. There are still other areas of the squad Eddie Howe would ideally like to strengthen this summer.
On the surface, another forward may not seem the utmost priority, particularly when Newcastle already have six players who can all fill in on the flanks, including record signing Alexander Isak and the versatile Joelinton. Also, Newcastle scored 68 goals in the Premier League last season - a huge 24-goal improvement on the previous campaign.
Only champions Man City and second-placed Arsenal had a better goal difference than Newcastle, on account of the Magpies having the meanest defence in the division, while no other side hit the woodwork more than Howe's team (26) in the top-flight. If even half of those efforts had gone in, Newcastle would have been among the Premier League's highest scorers.
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Although there is an element of bad luck to hitting the post or the crossbar, digging deeper, Newcastle missed 69 big chances last season. Home draws against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Leeds United, West Ham and Leicester City could just so easily have been turned into wins if Newcastle had taken their opportunities.
Yes, Newcastle had three players hit double figures in the Premier League for the first time ever, but Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron ended up scoring 57% of the Magpies' goals in the top-flight. That was despite Isak (16 games), Wilson (seven matches) and Almiron (four fixtures) all having spells on the sidelines.
Beyond the trio, Joelinton scored a respectable six Premier League goals, Bruno Guimaraes and Jacob Murphy popped up with four each and Joe Willock scored three. Damningly, Chris Wood was Newcastle's next highest scorer in the top-flight with a measly two goals despite the striker joining Nottingham Forest mid-season. There were then six players who only found the back of the net on one occasion, including forwards Allan Saint-Maximin and Anthony Gordon, who had injury problems and adaptation issues respectively.
No wonder Newcastle have looked at adding yet more firepower this summer, particularly with at least 46 games on the horizon in four competitions, and elite sides have options, players who can change games from the bench or freshen up a starting line-up from the off. Man City, for instance, had the luxury of being able to have Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva in reserve when the champions defeated Newcastle at home last season. Even beleaguered Chelsea's bench against Newcastle on the final day cost an estimated £339m in transfer fees.
To battle on four fronts, managers need to be able to rotate without a noticeable drop in quality and that is why Newcastle are being so considered with their recruitment. What is the point of bringing in a player who does not strengthen a squad that finished in fourth place last season?
End product will be crucial with any forward who comes in and that is one of the reasons why Newcastle are long-time admirers of Harvey Barnes. The Leicester star has hit double figures in all competitions in each of his last three campaigns and was the relegated Foxes' top scorer last season with 13 Premier League goals. When it comes to assists, only Liverpool stars Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold created more goals in the top-flight than Barnes (10) in 2021-22.
Leicester are resigned to losing Barnes, who would be interested in a move to Newcastle, but the fact remains there are names yet to emerge who the Magpies are also considering. The Tonali deal proves you can never rule out a surprise on Tyneside.
