OPINION
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is rightfully looking to upgrade his beleaguered first team squad this summer, but he has to ensure he remains realistic with his plans.
Chasing Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks is decidedly unrealistic. The Daily Star reported on Wednesday that the 20-year-old is on Benitez’s radar ahead of the summer transfer window.
That is just ridiculous. Brooks has been outstanding in his debut Premier League season with the Cherries, playing 31 times and scoring seven times with five assists. For a 21-year-old in his first season in the top flight that is incredible. He’s been tremendous this term.
Benitez is kidding himself, here. There is no way Brooks would sign for the Magpies at this stage of his career. He is too talented and too young to consider Newcastle anything but a sideways move. That might sounds harsh but it’s just the way it is.
If Brooks is going to leave the Vitality Stadium any time soon then it’ll be for a top six club like Tottenham Hotspur, not for a Newcastle team who have been underperforming for the past decade or so.
There was a time when the north east giants would have been considered a natural move for a player like Brooks. But that era has long since gone. Newcastle is still a massive club, but the reality is that they cannot attract players like Brooks at the moment.
The Welsh international is destined for the very top, and that’s not Newcastle at the moment. It would be nice to see him in a black and white shirt, but it seems extremely unlikely at this moment in time.
