The prospect of Newcastle United signing a midfielder in the January window should be taken seriously, claims journalist Dean Jones.
Jones has revealed that Newcastle are ready to step into the transfer market for a new central midfielder with injury concerns leaving them light in the middle of the park.
It was reported last week by ChronicleLive that Jonjo Shelvey has been ruled out for up to eight weeks following a calf injury picked up in the 3-2 friendly defeat against Benfica.
The 30-year-old has had a horrific time with injuries of late with him playing just 34 minutes of football all season following a hamstring injury keeping him out the side for the opening two months of the season.
Even worse for Shelvey is that he was previously sidelined with calf problems at the beginning and end of the previous season, leaving his long-term ability to stay fit in question.
The Telegraph recently reported that the Magpies were eyeing up Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo and Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans as potential January arrivals.
And Jones has told This Is Futbol that although a centre-midfield recruit was never seen as urgent, there is a chance they could now move for either player.
He said: “There is a potential for this to happen.
“It hasn’t been the priority coming in the past few weeks as we’ve been building towards it, but it is something I think that we should take reasonably seriously.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Newcastle are currently flying in the league, with them temporarily going second after beating Tielemans’ Leicester side on Boxing Day.
The Magpies are in a prime position to remarkably finish in the Champions League just 12 months after battling against relegation with a new man in the middle a priority with such thin options currently available to Eddie Howe.
As Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock, Joelinton and Sean Longstaff are the only centre-midfielders who have played over 100 Premier League minutes this season.
Caicedo will be a tough deal to do with a £60m price tag slapped on the youngster, though Tielemans could yet be a more attainable target with his contract up in the summer, meaning the Foxes may well cash in.