Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is confident the club can pull off an imminent transfer swoop before they head off on a pre-season trip to Portugal this coming weekend, according to the Chronicle.
The north east England newspaper claim that talks over the potential capture of West Brom striker Salomon Rondon are set to continue on Monday (23 July), and that the Spanish boss believes crucial progress can be made to have a new face among the squad over the coming days.
The Magpies will face Hull City in midweek before heading over to Portugal, where they will play friendly games against both Porto and Sporting Braga, and have just one new face in the squad from the end of last season in the shape of Ki Sung Yeung, while Martin Dubravka has turned his loan deal permanent and Kenedy has rejoined on another temporary spell.
Opinion
Newcastle are in desperate need of some new bodies all the way through the squad, but they primarily need to see some reinforcements in attack. Benitez has got his side well drilled and difficult to break down, with a defence marshalled by club captain Jamaal Lascelles the crux of their success, but they lack the cutting edge to break teams down, with the likes of Joselu and Dwight Gayle inconsistent at being a threat up top. Rondon might not be the answer to their issues, but he should at least give fans some hope that they will see more goals scored next season. The Toon Army have come a long way from their Entertainers tag of the 1990s, but they love Benitez almost as much as they do Kevin Keegan – although they would like to see their side be a little less pragmatic next season and give them some more exciting football out on the pitch.