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Opinion

Why every day without Newcastle United signings gives me extra hope

7 years ago
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Another day, weekend, week, month goes by without any Newcastle United signings.

Yes, we all may have expected new faces in by now, but each passing day that goes by without any, actually increases my hopes of success in the transfer market this summer.

I know that pre-season training starts again today, the squad back together in preparation for the upcoming season.

Not one new face, although Christian Atsu has been converted from loan to permanent, Newcastle paying the pre-arranged fee only days after the Championship title was won.

So why my celebration of no new Newcastle United signings?

Well exactly who have we missed out on so far?

Yes you have the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City picking up what look some decent players but they were outside our price range and are players who wouldn’t give NUFC a second look in our current state.

Some of the ones we HAVE missed out on:

Nathan Ake – A 22 year old defender who has started 30 Premier League matches in total, joins Bournemouth for £20m.

Harry Maguire – Leicester have paid £17m for this centre-back who’s started only 25 games in the top tier.

Jordan Pickford – Has conceded a ridiculous number of goals in his 31 Premier League starts but Everton paid £30m!

Jermain Defoe – Turns 35 years old in October and Bournemouth have guaranteed him £20m in signing on fees and wages.

Jay Rodriguez – Latest Premier League transfer to go through on Sunday, turns 28 this months and has only started 12 Premier League matches in last three years and has had horrendous injury problems. Despite that West Brom have shelled out £12m plus another £3m if hitting various targets.

I am not saying that all of these signings will prove to be failures but I am convinced that there are better players out there that Newcastle can get and quite possibly for far less money.

I believe/hope that Rafa Benitez IS the one pulling all the strings these days and it is he who has decided to keep his/the club’s powder dry so far.

The fitness tests and training that the Newcastle players will be doing in these coming days – any potential signings will be doing the same elsewhere, so nothing spoiling there.

The next two weeks though are crucial for me, new players have to be made in this period and by mid-July, four weeks before the start of the Premier League season, Rafa Benitez has to have the bulk of his key signings made by then.

Next season so much will depend on the team/squad showing the same discipline as last season, with the players drilled in their roles as to what is expected.

That can only be done by hard work on the training pitch and then tried out in the pre-season friendlies.

It isn’t going to be easy but I’m counting on Rafa.

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

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