Newcastle United chief scout Steve Nickson has embarked on a crunch transfer mission as the Magpies look at three new arrivals from Europe, according to the Chronicle.
The paper claim that the St James’ Park outfit are eyeing two players from France’s Ligue 1 and another plying his trade in Spain, with the senior figure responsible for sourcing new talent embarking on efforts to try and bring in some new recruits on Tyneside.
Manager Rafael Benitez has only seen Martin Dubravka put pen to paper as a transfer capture this summer, the Slovakian shot stopper turning his temporary move into a permanent deal.
Opinion
Newcastle have had mixed success when it comes to recruiting new signings from the continent but with the transfer market in the state it is right now, it is the only way that the Magpies will be able to afford the sort of talent they are looking for. Benitez would love to add proven Premier League stars to his squad but with fees in excess of the club’s record fee regularly splashed out by their rivals, there is just no way that is a reality while Mike Ashley is at the helm. Instead, the Spanish boss will once again rely on sourcing cheap deals for what he believes to be quality arrivals, as was the case with Florian Lejeune and Mikel Merino last summer, and try to stretch his transfer budget as far as it will possibly go. There are a lot of changes that are needed if the club are going to continue to grow, and the sales of current players will help provide those much needed funds.