OPINION
After a season in which Newcastle United stunned many with their top ten finish, the focus turns to the summer transfer market – and manager Rafael Benitez will have his work cut out.
The Magpies were among the lowest spenders 12 months ago despite having just come up from the Championship, and the Spanish boss was left publicly voicing his frustrations over the club’s inability to snap up his top targets.
With owner Mike Ashley still at the helm, his chances of getting exactly what he wants have not improved at all, but he will be hoping that the British businessman has learned the error of his ways.
One area Benitez must sort out is the centre forward options among the squad, with no one having offered the quality expected or needed to fire the Magpies to any sort of success.
The Chronicle are claiming he may have found his first top target of the summer, reporting that the Magpies’ chief scout Steve Nickson has been following Hoffenheim forward Andrej Kramaric closely after his red hot form.
With 11 goals in his last 14 league outings, the 26-year-old has come to the fore after a slow first half of the season, with Euro giants Bayern Munich also said to be in the hunt for his capture.
Kramaric already has experience of England, albeit not successfully, having been something of a flop at Leicester City, managing four goals in 20 appearances, with just 22 minutes of action across two outings in his final half a season with the Foxes.
However he looks to have sorted out his form and at Newcastle he would be the number one striker, not playing second fiddle to Jamie Vardy, although his versatility would help Benitez out in case of emergencies.
Blowing Bayern away in the hunt, which should not be too much trouble with the promise of much more regular first team action, would be a real coup for the Magpies, and be a bright start to the summer.