OPINION
If Rafa Benitez manages to steer his Newcastle United side clear of relegation from the Premier League this season, he faces the most important transfer window of his career.
The club’s focus will turn from surviving the drop to moving up the table, and the Magpies will need some big incomings in order to help them achieve that.
There is one former Premier League star who would undoubtedly take this Newcastle side to mid-table and beyond, and he could be available for £26million this summer.
As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Sevilla midfielder Steven Nzonzi looks likely to leave the club this summer, with several of Europe’s top clubs keeping tabs on the 29-year-old.
The France international has a release clause of £26million, and that is an absolute bargain for a player who has vast experience in both England and the continent.
It may seem a bit far-fetched to suggest that Newcastle should vie with clubs like Juventus for a player of Nzonzi’s stature, but this is the kind of move that the Magpies need to make this summer, should they remain in the top-flight.
They need players who have been there and done it, players who can come in and instantly lift the squad to higher levels of performance.
Nzonzi has shown over the past few years that he is a brilliant technician in the centre of midfield, and he is the kind of player that you can build a team around.
The 6ft 5in colossus would provide the most solid of bases in midfield for Benitez to build upon, and a move for him would really announce Newcastle’s return to the big time.
While £26million is unthinkable money at the moment for Newcastle, if they stay in the Premier League then money like that should be available for Benitez to spend.
And he must not be afraid to push the boat out on players like Nzonzi, who will make Newcastle a force to be reckoned with once again at the top of the English game.