Lee Ryder has been speaking on the latest episode of the Everything is Black and White Podcast, discussing everything related to Newcastle United.
One of the topics that he spent a bit of time on was transfers, and revealed that the Toon were close to making their second signing of the summer, with Jeff Hendrick looking like he will be announced as a Toon player soon after it was reported by the Daily Mail that Newcastle were close to signing him.
It looks as if the Republic of Ireland international will be joining Newcastle – and that he is a decent player in Ryder’s eyes.
He said: “It looks like Jeff Hendrick is nearly done, latter stages of his medical, could be announced any time in the next 24-48 hours if it goes well, and hopefully he’s going to be at the club’s training base, which I believe is taking place in York.”
Ryder also provided his view on what Hendrick will bring into the Newcastle side:
“It does look like he’s going to be one of these consistent, dare I say it, 7/10 sort of performer[s] and doing a job for the team every week.”
Are you pleased with this signing?
Yes, good squad player
No, hardly inspiring
TIF Thoughts…
Hendrick left Burnley at the end of June, but it is thought that Sean Dyche had wanted to keep him after making 122 Premier League appearances for the Clarets since he joined them from Derby County in 2016.
However, he left instead, and it looks like he will join Mark Gillespie in the Toon’s squad on a free transfer.
According to WhoScored, his main attribute is blocking the ball, which could suggest he can prove himself to be a solid addition for the Toon in a defensive sense and provide some competition in midfield.
However, Ryder’s claim that he is a 7/10 performer may be slightly off, considering he only averaged a 6.55/10 rating for Burnley in the 2019/20 season (as per WhoScored).
Despite this, though, if Ryder is to be believed, Hendrick will soon become a Toon player.