Journalist Keith Downie has claimed that Newcastle United have about £20m to spend as a down payment on an ‘attacking recruit’ this summer.
Newcastle have only made three signings this summer and they have all been defensive options, so it appears likely that if they were to recruit any more players, they would be attacking options.
The Magpies have been linked with several attackers this summer, including James Maddison – for whom they had a second bid of £50m rejected – and most recently Conor Gallagher, who has emerged as a top target for them.
With Newcastle falling short on signing an attacker this summer, Downie claimed whilst speaking to GiveMeSport that they have about £20m available as an upfront fee to spend, with the potential to put add-ons in a prospective deal.
He said: “My understanding is that they’ve probably got around about £20 million as a down payment to spend. Then if they wanted to go beyond that, they could structure a deal with add-ons.
“I think with the Maddison deal, I can’t remember the exact amount that they were putting down, but it was something roundabout £20 million and then it was structured up to about £45 million.”
Will Newcastle finish inside the top six?Yes!
No!
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TIF Thoughts on Downie’s comments…
It might prove difficult for Newcastle to make a statement signing this summer if they are only able to offer an initial payment of £20m to offer, as clubs might want to get the full sum of money upfront rather than see part of the fee paid at a later date.
Gallagher has emerged as a top target for the Magpies, so it will be interesting to see whether such a down payment would be a stumbling block in proceedings or if Chelsea are willing to accept this and receive the rest of the fee in the future – provided they are happy to sell in the first place, of course.
Newcastle have started the Premier League campaign well after picking up four points from a possible six whilst keeping two clean sheets, but having failed to score in their second game, Eddie Howe might see this as motivation to push for another attacker this summer.