Top French football agent Laurent Schmitt has tipped Newcastle United boss to follow in the footsteps of German giants Borussia Dortmund or Bundesliga revelations RB Leipzig with his transfer plans on Tyneside.
The Magpies have made a mix of permanent and temporary captures following the opening of the window, with the likes of former loanees Kenedy and Martin Dubravka joined by Ki Sung-Yeung, Salomon Rondon and Fabian Schar at St James’ Park, and with a couple of days left in the market, they are reportedly eyeing up new moves.
Speaking on their supposed hunt for Ligue 1 pair Stanley N’Soki and Myziane Maolida, Schmitt, Get French Football News’ transfer expert Schmitt suggests the north east side are following the model set out by their German counterparts, stating: “It shows that they’ve changed their transfer policy, since before they were buying up established Ligue 1 players such as Sissoko or Ben Arfa and others which didn’t work out.
“Now we see that through Benitez they are targeting younger players, following a model closer to that of Leipzig or Dortmund. This can be a good thing, as young players are likely to be more adaptable to the Premier League than the players that came before.”
Opinion
If only Newcastle could taste the same success that Dortmund or Leipzig have over in Germany, then there would be significantly less turmoil at St James’ Park. The Toon Army would likely love to follow in the footsteps of either side, buying young, unproven but exciting talents to bolster their side, drive them up the table and perhaps into Europe once again. Unfortunately for the Newcastle faithful, owner Mike Ashley is all about profit, and once a young prospect has grown into a fully fledged talent in the first team, he is sold on for a significant price, that money ending up back in the businessman’s pocket. While the Premier League would benefit from more competition at the top of the table, with Leicester’s title victory celebrated by almost everyone apart from Tottenham supporters, the difference in finances means that it looks impossible to crack the top four now. Could Newcastle, or anyone else, adopting a tactic similar to Leipzig be the answer? With top flight safety of paramount importance, it would be a huge risk to take, but the rewards could be tremendous.