Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna has warned Newcastle United they must recruit right this summer to avoid undoing the hard work of Champions League qualification. Eddie Howe and his side surpassed any pre-season expectations to finish in the top-four last season and bring European football back to St. James' Park.
And Sagna, who won the Premier League with Man City, believes moves for Leicester City playmaker James Maddison and Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse would be ideal to help the Magpies make the transition to playing Champions League football next term.
Sagna told Lord Ping: "Newcastle is a mythical English club, the city lives for football. Newcastle will be able to attract top players. Now they have the financial power to buy the best.
"If you look at Leicester and Southampton, two teams that were relegated, they have some amazing players that will want to leave. Talented players like Maddison and Ward-Prowse will be looking for a new challenge. Perhaps they would be good additions?
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"I think Newcastle will be looking to recruit wisely this summer. They need to find the right players for their project and they will need to add players to make sure that they have another good season because it will be harder for them to manage playing every three days.
"The pressure will be more intense. They will want to build on what they achieved this season and to do that, they need more players."
The former France international has also hailed the work done by Howe and his coaching staff, refuting the claim that they've bought their success. Sagna added: "I think Newcastle deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve achieved this season.
"We know that they have a lot of resources at their disposal since they changed ownership, but what they have built isn’t based around money. They have managed to build a team and they have built an incredibly strong connection between the players and the fans. Newcastle is a proper football club that are coming back to the top.
"Football isn’t only about the money you can invest in your team. You need a united squad that work hard for each other; you need players that can handle the pressure.
"They kept going this season and got stronger and stronger in the run-in. Next season they will be in the Champions League which is a fantastic achievement for them.
"I was expecting Newcastle to collapse at some point, even though they have an amazing coach, amazing players, and a great team spirit. It was new territory for this group (challenging for the Champions League) and they were under a lot of pressure, which they dealt with perfectly."
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