Newcastle face competition from Tottenham Hotspur for both Junior Hoilett and Eren Derdiyok according to this week’s newspapers. The Premier League pair are doing battle on the field at St James’ Park this weekend, but come January the fight could well be in the transfer market off the pitch.
Despite the form of Demba Ba and Leon Best, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew still feels the club is short of a forward after failing to bring in a big name striker in the summer.
Junior Hoilett has been in blistering form in 2011 and has won a legion of admirers. However, the Canadian winger is yet to agree a new deal at Blackburn and with only a year left on his contract he could be his way out of Ewood Park.
Pardew tried to bring the 21-year-old to St James’ Park in the summer only for Steve Kean to persuade his father and agent that staying in Lancashire was better for his development. Kean thinks highly of Hoilett, stating in the Metro that: “He can be top, top notch. He can go all the way to being a very, very special player in this league.”
As for Eren Derdiyok, clubs are circling around the Swiss star. The 23-year-old is being chased by Bayer Leverkusen in addition to the Magpies and Spurs, with Newcastle scout Graham Carr amongst a number of watching admirers.
Rated at £7.5 million, Derdiyok can only have advanced his reputation with a stunning overhead kick earlier this month, so if Newcastle could bag their man it would be a real coup.
Writen by Tom Jones for NothingButNewcastle.com
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