OPINION
When the 2017/18 season came to a close, fans at Newcastle United were left wondering where their side would strengthen when the summer transfer window swung open.
The Magpies were evidently in need of some reinforcements, with a new striker and potentially some other attacking options, including a winger, among Rafael Benitez’s top priorities.
One area that the Toon Army did not think they would need to be thinking of bolstering would have been their midfield, with no less than four senior options in the shape of Jonjo Shelvey, Mohamed Diame, Mikel Merino and Isaac Hayden and the Spaniard’s disposal.
However, that has all changed in a matter of weeks, and Benitez is now facing a potential crisis in the middle of the park.
Merino has departed for Real Sociedad on a permanent basis, and now the Mirror are claiming that Hayden has submitted a shock transfer request based on personal reasons, as he eyes a move back down south two years after leaving Arsenal.
If Benitez is to carry out the wishes of the defensive midfielder and let him depart St James’ Park, then it leaves him with just two senior options from last season – summer signing Ki Sung Yeung joining the options – with no other first team stars who can even be shoehorned into such a role.
It adds further complication to what has already been a slow transfer window for the Magpies, and Benitez may be looking for two new central midfielders among the number of other recruits he wants to bring in before the market shuts in August.
The Newcastle ship is in trouble, and if the Spanish boss cannot turn it around imminently, they could well sink when the Premier League kicks off.