A lot of Newcastle United fans have replied to a post from Mark Douglas that claims that the Toon are pushing to sign Jeff Hendrick, but that nothing is finalised yet.
Newcastle’s move to sign the former Burnley man has picked up pace in recent days with reports in both The Guardian and the Daily Mail stating the 28-year-old’s links to a possible switch to St. James’ Park this summer.
However, these Toon fans are not impressed.
Is this an inspiring signing?
No, and I am worried now
Yes, good player to have in the squad
No better than Matty Longstaff or Colback at that matter. Not going to improve our team.
— Paul Pickford (@paulnufc10) August 12, 2020
Wow…….what an uninspiring target – a bang average player scouted by a bang average head coach
— Michael Gallon (@MichaelGallon) August 12, 2020
Happy days
— Daniel Driveklepp (@DDriveklepp) August 12, 2020
Anything else? Absolutely anything?
— HWTL ?? (@NUFCChazo) August 12, 2020
Hendrick has 54 caps for the Republic of Ireland and has made 122 Premier League appearances, so for a free transfer, Newcastle would be getting a vastly experienced player.
Meanwhile, Matty Longstaff is out of contract and has still not decided where he wants to go, and Nabil Bentaleb’s loan from Schalke has ended.
So, if the Toon could pick up Hendrick on a free, they would be adding competition to their midfield at a minimal expense.
It seems that these Newcastle fans have recognised that and think that he would be a decent addition to the squad.
Decent signing on a free under the circumstances. Better than Bentaleb and prob S Longstaff based on last season, Obviously underwhelming of course.
— Nathan??Moat (@nathanmoat) August 12, 2020
He’s not a bad player. Nothing amazing but he will be good to have around.
— FedUpWithBrick (@Axcrazy1) August 12, 2020
Good Squad signing that’s it. Nothing more really
— Matthew Daly (@MrMatthewDaly) August 12, 2020
Considering Newcastle were linked with the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Ciro Immobile not too long ago, this might seem like a disappointing signing.
However, with the proposed takeover collapsing, the Toon’s budget has been slashed to £35m plus player sales.
And given that Newcastle’s strikers between them managed six Premier League goals in the 2019/20 season, you would think that most of that money should be spent on a forward.
That could leave Steve Bruce with very little to spend, so getting an experienced player like Hendrick in on a free could indeed be a smart move.