Football journalist Dean Jones has been speaking on the latest edition of Touchline Talk to discuss Newcastle United’s transfer plans for the upcoming January transfer window.
The January window will offer the new owners on Tyneside their first opportunity to make any changes to the Toon side since arriving
Would Ake be a good signing?
Yes
No
And with the Magpies currently sitting rock-bottom of the Premier League table, it feels like new faces in the team could be the next big change on Tyneside, with Eddie Howe now in as Steve Bruce’s replacement.
One name which has been heavily linked with a potential move to St. James’ Park is Burnley’s James Tarkowski, with the owners reportedly ‘confident’ of signing the centre-back.
And with the club reportedly looking at addressing their defensive issues, Jones had the following to say on one of the targets he believes Eddie Howe is looking at for the January window.
“I have heard that Nathan Ake [rumour], to be honest with you. It was one that Eddie Howe is going to push for. Obviously, he’s not making all the decisions in terms of recruitment at this point at Newcastle and they’re going to have a team of people that decide these things, but Ake is somebody he feels could fit in and might become available.”
TIF Thoughts on the transfer claim…
One of the biggest issues for Newcastle this season has been their inability to remain solid defensively, as they have now made it to nearly December without keeping a single clean sheet in the league.
Ake has previous experience of working with Howe during his time at Bournemouth, and the 43-year-old manager was able to develop the centre-back enough to earn him a big-money switch to Manchester City.
We feel the Magpies have to add to their defence in January and we think a loan move for a player like Ake, who is struggling for game time at his current club, could be a great move as it offers the 26-year-old an opportunity to prove his worth to City.
However, it will be interesting to see if the other Premier League clubs will deal with the Toon in January and offer them a platform to boost their hopes of top-flight survival.
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