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5 Newcastle United signings Eddie Howe is hoping to make in the summer – Report

2 years ago
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Just read an interesting article about Newcastle United signings set to be made this summer.

The report saying that NUFC intend to bring in up to half a dozen new players if they can land them.

The report from The Telegraph naming the five positions that Eddie Howe will be looking to strengthen.

Those positions being goalkeeper, right sided central defender, central midfielder, an attacking midfielder / winger and at least one striker.

The report pointing to deficiencies highlighted in the Manchester City match, with the performances of Dubravka, Longstaff, Almiron and Wood highlighted (as well as the right sided central defensive position, which saw Schar only fit enough to be on the bench, with Lascelles playing instead at the Etihad.

The Telegraph pointing to Callum Wilson’s ability as a striker BUT sadly also his inability to stay fit. There have been 74 Premier League matches played since Wilson arrived and he has only been able to start 37 of them, exactly half. With injury issues down the years, having now turned 30, it was absolutely reckless beyond belief, that Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce allowed NUFC to kick off the season with only this one injury prone Premier League level striker in the squad. This directly leading to Eddie Howe and the new owners needing to spend £25m on Chris Wood in January, in order to help to try and avoid relegation.

Taking into consideration this new report, as well as the evidence of our own eyes, I think this is how the first team eleven and squad would ideally (and realistically) look at the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season:

Goalkeepers:

First choice – New signing

Cover – Martin Dubravka

Right-backs:

First choice – Kieran Trippier

Cover – Emil Krafth

Left-backs:

First choice – Matt Targett

Cover – Paul Dummett, Jamal Lewis

Central defenders:

First choice – New signing, Dan Burn

Cover – Fabian Schar

Central midfielders:

First choice – New signing, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton

Cover – Joe Willock, Jonjo Shelvey

Wingers / Attacking midfielders:

First choice – New signing, ASM

Cover – Ryan Fraser

Strikers:

First choice – New signing

Cover – Callum Wilson, Chris Wood

The suggestions above give us a first eleven and then another nine players as cover, allowing another five spaces to be filled in the senior 25 man squad.

There would need to be a third keeper, possibly Dan Langley coming through the ranks, leaving four outfield places.

If everybody else is / was deemed surplus to requirements, you then have up to 15 needing to find new clubs this summer:

Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy, Ciaran Clark, Jamaal Lascelles, Federico Fernandez, Karl Darlow, Mark Gillespie, Freddie Woodman, Javier Manquillo, Jeff Hendrick, Matty Longstaff, Sean Longstaff, Dwight Gayle, Matt Ritchie, Isaac Hayden

Getting some of these out of the club could prove mighty difficult, especially with so many of them getting daft (in terms of keeping certain players at NUFC, length of contracts, level of wages for players who aren’t Premier League level) contracts when Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce were still in charge.

There is also the question of whether or not Eddie Howe and the NUFC owners might cash in on ASM as well?

An absolutely massive summer coming up and so much needing to be done in such a short space of time.

Only 11 weeks between this 2021/22 Premier League season ending and the 2022/23 one kicking off.

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