Newcastle United are miles away from being an elite Premier League side - as demonstrated again by a 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City on Sunday.
But optimism that they soon will be has been hyped by 10pc stake-holder Amanda Staveley who said on day one the aim was to win the league in five to 10 years. And new signing Bruno Guimaraes is on record as saying he’s on Tyneside to win things. So another massive transfer splurge this summer, to match the £94m spent in January, is on the cards then?
Maybe not. Listen carefully and you hear Eddie Howe preaching “evolution” rather than “revolution. And yesterday after the hammering by City he talked about having to be “smart” in the transfer market. That could be expectation management and a bluff to keep prices down. Or it could be that Newcastle have to sell well and have a small budget to add to sale proceeds, to rebuild.
Here are all the latest Newcastle transfer rumours.
Saint-Maximin's future
Eddie Howe is on record as saying the French winger is very much a part of his plans, and Allan Saint-Maximin himself in his controversial So Foot interview last week, said he was pleased the club will try to sign better players in the future because it will mean he makes, and scores, more goals.
But Maxi is their biggest saleable asset, away from fringe players, and there is an intense debate among Toon fans over whether they’d accept £30m, £40m or £50m for him, or simply say no sale. But if the top six don’t want him, who would pay that sort of money?
The likelihood is that Howe will sell others ahead of Maxi, but if a massive offer comes in or the player becomes disruptive (“I have no worries about his mood” - Howe on Friday), he’ll be around next season and asked to contribute more.
French teenager or Toney?
Callum Wilson is fit again but seems to be injury prone. Chris Wood is a physical presence leading the line, but won’t score enough to be more than a squad member going forward. So Eddie Howe’s transfer priority is a striker.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney is young and hungry and has been linked with a return to Tyneside. Reims want to revive the sale of £33m rated French teenager Hugo Ekitike who Newcastle came close to buying in January before the player refused to move.
Newcastle are also understood to be monitoring Villarreal's Arnaut Danjuma.
Loyal club servant to go
Toon captain Jamaal Lascelles is effectively the third choice centre back these days behind Dan Burn and Fabian Schar. He left Nottingham Forest as a teenager to joining Newcastle and has been an excellent servant, on and off the pitch, always speaking well about difficult situations.
But with Howe searching for a new centre back in the summer, Lascelles could be the fall guy, and carry decent transfer value of £20m-plus. A return to the City Ground has been rumoured if Steve Cooper’s men gain promotion through the play-offs.
