OPINION
It is clear from watching Newcastle United that the club need some new additions this January, but there seems to be precious little activity at St James’ Park.
The club are not being linked with a whole host of players despite their obvious need for reinforcements. It was no surprise to see them left out of the list of clubs chasing American international Gyasi Zardes, then.
TEAMtalk reported on Sunday that a host of English clubs are looking to bring in the 6ft 2in frontman [Source: Transfermarkt] this month. Fulham, Crystal Palace, Huddersfield Town, Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Norwich City are all said to be keen.
Obviously the competition for Zardes would be fierce, but Newcastle need to at least compete with their direct rivals for this sort of player.
The 27-year-old scored 19 goals in the MLS for Columbus Crew last campaign. He is a solid striker in front of goal, while possessing the physical frame to occupy multiple defenders.
The Magpies already have someone in that mould in Salomon Rondon, of course. However, given the team’s style of play under Rafael Benitez this season it would surely be worth doubling down on what’s worked for them.
Rondon has had the most success of any Newcastle frontman this campaign, although that’s not saying much. With that being said, having another hulking attacker like Zardes would surely benefit this team.
What Zardes has shown, though, is that he’s possibly a more prolific finisher than Rondon. Obviously he’s operating in a worse league in the MLS, but he scored more goals than the likes of David Villa, Carlos Vela and Sebastian Giovinco last time out.
An attacker is one of Newcastle’s primary needs this month, and Zardes could be the man to pull them clear of relegation trouble. The American has gotten better and better year on year and would be a terrific addition for the Magpies.
It’s disconcerting not to see Rafael Benitez’s side mentioned alongside many of their relegation rivals when it comes to these sort of transfers, but they need to enter the race where Zardes is concerned.
