Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs were surprised to discover that Newcastle United had been linked with a move for Southampton attacker Charlie Austin.
Football Insider previously reported that the Magpies had turned their attentions to signing the 30-year-old forward, with the Chronicle claiming that Steve Bruce’s side had been offered the chance to sign him.
The talkSPORT duo discussed the transfer reports which suggested Austin could end up and St James Park, and the pair both seem surprised as Jacobs said wow, while Hawksbee claimed it would be an interesting move.
“Reports linking Charlie Austin to Newcastle,” said Hawksbee on talkSPORT (14:10, Wednesday, July 24th).
Jacobs replied: “Wow”, before Hawksbee added that Austin moving to the Magpies would be an “interesting” move as the Magpies had just given Joelinton the No.9 shirt.
OPINION
Bruce needs to sign new attackers for the Magpies, even though Joelinton has arrived, as the Magpies have lost both Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez since the 2018/19 season ended. Rondon, who scored 12 goals and registered seven assists last season, saw his loan spell at the club come to an end, and has since joined Chinese side Dalian Yifang. Whereas Perez, who was the Magpies’ top-scorer with 13 goals in his latest campaign, was sold to Premier League rivals Leicester City. When you consider that the pair racked up 25 goals between them and led the scoring charts at the Magpies by some distance, as per the BBC, it’s not a shock that the Magpies have been linked to Austin. Granted, when you consider he is 30-years-old and only managed two goals in 25 league outings last season, he doesn’t sound like a typical Magpies’ signing under Mike Ashley’s regime. However, with only 15 days left before the transfer window slams shut, beggers can’t be choosers.
