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Tavernier should be No.1 target

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Image for Tavernier should be No.1 target

OPINION

Newcastle United wasting their time pursuing Ahmed Elmohamady and Emil Krafth as both would not have as big an impact as Rangers defender James Tavernier could on the club’s fortunes.

According to Football Insider, the Magpies are on the hunt for a new right-back so have set their sights on Villa’s Elmohamady and have already made a move for Swedish right-back Emil Krafth.

The reliable football outlet claim that Newcastle are set to turn their attention to Ranger’s Tavernier if they do not get the pair.

Football Insider then go on to state that Rangers will hold out for £10million as he is at his peak age, 27, and has three years left on his deal.

The Gers’ valuation of Tavernier is clearly what is stopping the Magpies making the defender their No.1 target as according to Football Insider the Magpies do not want to pay more than £5million for the solution to their right-back problems.

However the 27-year-old is clearly worth stretching the budget for, which stands at £40million currently according to the People, rather than signing either, or even both, Krafth or Elmohamady.

Tavernier scored 17 goals, while assisting 20, in 57 outings last season and not including his eight appearances and two goals in Rangers’ Europa League campaign last season, he averaged a goal every 252 minutes (Source: BBC).

Also, the right-back isn’t only a proven attacking threat, he’s not too shabby when it comes to his defensive duties as he was part of the Rangers’ defence that only conceded 27 goals in the league last season.

Tavernier would also be able to hit the ground running at St James Park as it wouldn’t take him long to settle in when you consider that he previously spent over four years at the club.

Elmohamady would likely be able to settle in after a few weeks given his previous experience with Steve Bruce, but perhaps he won’t take to the area, and Krafth would definitely take time to adjust, as he’s never played in England before.

Also, Tavernier should be preferred to Elmohamady given that the Eqyptian is now 31-years-old and not a long-term solution to the Magpies’ right-back issue, while the Gers man should be preferred to Krafth as the 25-year-old only averaged a rating of 6.49 while playing for Amiens last season and was hardly an attacking threat for them as he managed only one goal and one assist (Source: WhoScored).

So with that in mind and the position of right-back likely being an important one for Newcastle under Bruce, the club are wasting time trying to potentially consider deals from Krafth or Elmohamady, when the Rangers man could actually make a real impact by being signed.

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