Newsletter

Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Opinion

Just how far down the food chain are Newcastle United today?

7 years ago
Share

Back in Summer 2014, Newcastle United were desperate for a striker.

After almost being relegated in 2012/13 (survival confirmed in final away game at QPR  – a 2-1 win), Newcastle had  bought not a single player in the next two transfer windows (Summer 2013 and January 2014) but hit very lucky in getting Loic Remy on loan for a year.

His presence/goals in that 2013/14 season helped to temporarily lift United away from flirting with relegation but Remy had no intention of sticking around at St James Park.

Before that Loic Remy season was even at an end, Newcastle were being linked with a move for another French striker, an up and coming 22 year old who had had his breakthrough season in Ligue 1, scoring 15 goals.

As the season ended and then the transfer window opened, Newcastle continued to be linked with this up and coming French striker, and there was even claims of bids going in to sign him.

However, it was claimed that Newcastle weren’t prepared to pay anywhere close to the £16m Lyon wanted for Alexandre Lacazette, and instead Newcastle bizarrely thought that  spending £6m on Emanuel Riviere would be the answer to their goalscoring problem/crisis.

Three years on and Riviere has scored one league goal in three seasons and Newcastle are still struggling to get rid of him, to anybody who is willing to take him. No surprise that he proved not good enough, a journeyman striker in Ligue 1 who had only managed to score more than eight league goals in a season once, and that was the 10 he got for Monaco immediately before Newcastle were conned out of the £6m.

As for Alexandre Lacazette, Newcastle continued to be sporadically linked with the striker but each time his price was rising from that initial £16m valuation that Newcastle had then found to be over the top, in their opinion.

These past three seasons saw Lacazette score 91 goals in all competitions for Lyon, building on that 15 goal breakthrough season in Ligue 1.

You may have read somewhere that he has joined Arsenal this summer for something in the region of £45m-£50m.

As for Newcastle, they were only saved from relegation on the final day of the 2014/15 season, then wasted £14m on a 20 year old Aleksandar Mitrovic to cure the goal problems, he only managed nine as Newcastle finally managed another Mike Ashley inspired relegation.

Rafa Benitez landed Dwight Gayle for £10m and he proved an inspired signing, as despite ongoing injury (hamstring) problems he scored 23 goals that were key to NUFC’s promotion, despite managing to start only 26 Championship matches.

Fans hope he can translate that goalscoring form to the Premier League, despite a mixed time in the top tier previously with Palace and those ongoing injury worries. At the very least Newcastle fans feel he will do a decent job BUT definitely needs another quality/decent striker to share the goals load.

Rafa clearly doesn’t rate Mitrovic and only gave him 11 starts in the Championship, desperately wants rid of him and to use the cash on a striker he does want, but nobody is inclined to get anywhere near Newcastle’s valuation of the Serbian, which is reported to be around the £16m mark. Surely at least twice what he is realistically worth.

Meanwhile, a year ago Lucas Perez was brought in for £17m by Arsenal as they wanted more of a goal threat, the striker having scored double figures in a season for the first time in his career, getting 17 La Liga goals for Deportivo in 2015/16.

Last season Arsene Wenger only gave Perez two Premier League starts and he scored a single goal, though he did score half a dozen in the Champions League and domestic cups for the Gunners.

Newcastle have been linked with Lucas Perez as they desperately search for a decent striker to add to Dwight Gayle, the player’s agent has confirmed that Arsenal are willing to make a loss and have set a price of £13.5m for Perez. It is widely reported that Newcastle aren’t prepared to pay anything close to that for a striker who turns 29 next month.

Moving ever further down the food chain, Friday brought news that Newcastle had had a ‘derisory’ bid turned down by Stoke for Joselu.

Joselu was brought in by Deportivo last summer (2016) on loan to try and help fill the goals gap left by Lucas Perez who had moved to Arsenal…

The situation is getting desperate and you have to really feel for Rafa Benitez with the way he is not being properly backed by Mike Ashley.

Joselu has never scored double figures in a season for club playing in the top division in any country, last year he scored five in La Liga for Deportivo after managing only four for SToke the previous year.

Rafa is clearly desperate for a striker but is having to go so far down the food chain, that it will be a miracle if he finds somebody who can do anything close to a decent job.

It makes you wonder though, just where we might be if Newcastle had been willing to invest that £16m in Alexandre Lacazette, or another similarly talented striker, rather than thinking they can do it on the cheap…

(All contributions from Newcastle fans welcome, send articles (as well as ideas/suggestions) to contribute@themag.co.uk)

Share

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to contribute@themag.co.uk

Have your say

© 2024 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks