Newcastle United may be looking to bring in another central midfielder before the transfer window closes in September.
That is according to Keith Downie of Sky Sports, who was speaking to This is Futbol about the Magpies’ potential transfer business, heading into the final two weeks of the transfer window.
Eddie Howe has welcomed two new faces to St. James’ Park this season in Lille centre-back Sven Botman and Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, as well as turning Aston Villa left-back Matt Targett’s loan move into a permanent deal this summer. Meanwhile, the Toon are expected to bring in a striker before the window closes.
However, the club are also yet to sign a central midfielder this season, with the club having one option less than they thought they would for the first part of the season, following Jonjo Shelvey’s hamstring injury suffered in a pre-season friendly at Benfica.
And Downie believes that whilst the club are looking to sign another centre-midfielder this summer, it won’t be the end of the world if they can’t get a deal over the line.
He said: “I think they are looking [for a centre-midfielder], I think they are looking to bring someone in.
“Look, I think if they don’t bring someone in, I don’t think it’s the end of the world, because they’ve got four other central midfielders plus the young lad Elliot Anderson, who did very well on loan last season.”
TIF Thoughts on Downie’s comments…
We agree with Downie and believe that whilst Newcastle should be looking to add a midfielder to the squad, if at all possible, it may not be a disaster if they can’t strike a deal with another club for a midfielder this summer.
Howe already has Bruno Guimarães, Joelinton, Joe Willock, and Sean Longstaff as senior first-team options who are capable of playing in the position, whilst the aforementioned Anderson may also benefit from a run in the team.
Therefore, we think that whilst there is nothing wrong with the club wanting to strengthen this season, we believe that Howe would be happy enough if his central midfield options were the same as they are now following the transfer deadline.