OPINION
Newcastle United must swoop now before the World Cup technically starts and try to sign Queens Park Rangers midfielder Massimo Luongo.
The 25-year-old midfield maestro had a fantastic 2017/18 campaign at the Championship side as he was finally able to find his scoring boots in order to look more like a complete player.
Luongo netted six goals, while registering three assists, in his 39 outings in his latest season despite featuring in a struggling QPR side.
While six goals doesn’t seem a lot, it’s worth noting that four of these goals came in his last 10 outings and he normally ends up playing deep in QPR’s midfield in order to help give their fragile defence extra cover.
The sublime midfielder has proven himself to be a fine passer of the ball, strong tackler and an excellent dribbler in his past 113 appearances in the Championship.
Luongo is a key player at the London club and after recently taking over the reigns new QPR boss Steve McClaren will be desperate to keep the midfielder where he is.
However with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, according to Australian outlet The World Game, already admirers of his talents McClaren faces an uphill battle keeping him.
There’s also an argument to be had that Luongo has learnt all he can from playing in the Championship and is unlikely to pick any further knowledge up from McClaren, so he should be looking to find a Premier League outfit to help him make the next step in his career.
The 25-year-old is currently set to go to the World Cup with Australia this summer and given his ability several others team will start to register an interest in him.
The Magpies need to get ahead of the curve by beating other clubs to his signature by swooping now to get the ball rolling towards a deal being complete as Luongo would light up St James Park with his dazzling skill set.
Benitez is on the hunt for a new midfielder, as stated by the Northern Echo, and with the current QPR player able to be an attacking as well as defensive presence he is the ideal player to sign.
Therefore the Magpies must move quickly to sign the midfielder who would be a great addition to their squad in order to start prying him out McClaren’s clutches so that Benitez’s side can benefit from his talents.
