Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez hopes that the signings the the Magpies made in the final days of the transfer window will help the team’s creativity and give his side a more attacking edge in matches over the coming months.
As well as signing Ipswich striker Daryl Murphy, and taking winger Christian Atsu on loan from Chelsea, the Spaniard believes that the purchases of Palermo left back Achraf Lazaar and Deandre Yedlin from Tottenham will also prove to be beneficial for creating goals in the attacking third of the pitch. He is quoted by the Shields Gazette as saying:
“Everyone could see we needed more offensive players, more creativity in the team. So we have Matt Ritchie, Mohamed Diame and Dwight Gayle to create chances and score goals, and, of course, we added Daryl Murphy, which gives us another option up front.
“Now we have Christian Atsu, who is an attacking winger, as well as Achraf Lazaar and DeAndre Yedlin, who are attack-minded defenders.”
Remarkably, despite making an astonishing twelve signings this summer, the sales of Moussa Sissoko to Tottenham for £30million and Georginio Wijnaldum to Liverpool for £25million means the Magpies have actually made a substantial profit in this transfer window.
The next task Rafa will face is to ensure Newcastle capitalise on their recent good form and bed in all the new signings as quickly as possible.
