OPINION
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez will undoubtedly be hopeful of upgrading his squad once again this summer, but one area he doesn’t need to strengthen is the left-hand side of the defence.
The Magpies are extremely well positioned at left back and left wing back at the moment, with Matt Ritchie making the latter position his own with a number of stellar performances over the past few months.
Were Benitez to revert to a flat back four, though, he can always count on the experienced Paul Dummett, while utility man Ciaran Clark is another option. Antonio Barreca technically is as well at the moment, but it’s highly unlikely that he will be wearing a black and white shirt at the start of next season.
One left back Newcastle have been linked with, though, is Olympiakos star Leonardo Koutris. TEAMtalk reported on Sunday that the Magpies sent scouts to watch the 23-year-old play for Greece on Saturday.
While Koutris is undoubtedly a fine player, there’s no need for Benitez to consider bringing him to St James’ Park. Simply put, he is not needed on Tyneside.
Benitez is well placed at the moment with the formation he’s using, which seems to bring out the best in everyone, particularly Ritchie. Why upset the apple cart with a pricey move for Koutris?
Again, this is nothing against the Greek international, it’s more an endorsement of the quality of Ritchie and Dummett. They have performed so well this season that no additions are needed on the left hand side, and a high profile swoop for Koutris would represent a major transfer blunder by the club.
