Newcastle United journalist Lee Ryder has provided an update on the club and their pursuits in the January transfer market.
Eddie Howe’s start to life at Newcastle has been a bumpy one so far, winning only one game, drawing one and losing two, with the latest game being a rather tough 4-0 loss away from home.
The defeat does mean that Newcastle once again own the worst defensive record in the division with 34 goals conceded, but it looks as if they are going to be taking steps to address that in the upcoming January transfer window.
Speaking on the Everything is Black and White podcast, Ryder claimed that the club have been taking a look at Bournemouth captain Steve Cook – someone that Howe has had plenty of experience with – whilst hinting that some of Cook’s recent actions might be sending a subtle hint regarding his future.
He said: “I think they’ve made enquiries already, I wrote a piece about the possibility of Steve Cook at Bournemouth, who is a player that’s certainly on the radar, and a player that if you have a look at his social media, you will see that he is liking Newcastle posts. So whether you can read something into that, I’ll leave that one there for you.”
TIF Thoughts on Lee Ryder’s comments about Steve Cook and Newcastle United…
How many players do Newcastle need to sign?
Five or less?
More than five?
A deal like this does come across as rather underwhelming on the face of it. Whilst Newcastle do have a lot of money to spend, it was always going to be unlikely they could attract big-name talents to the club already, especially given their position in the league.
But whilst they might have to lower their sights in the transfer market, they shouldn’t be looking to the Championship for players to try and fix their problems. Even if it is someone that Howe has worked with before, it is just sending the wrong message when it comes to wanting to stay in the Premier League.
We believe they need to be looking at top-flight players if they want to be a top-flight team, rather than players in the division below. So hopefully someone like Cook is only being looked at as a last resort if they can’t bring in anyone else.
In other news: ‘He’ll be one of the first names out’ – Kennedy tips £40k p/w ace for January exit from NUFC