OPINION
It’s clear that Newcastle United will need to spend again in January if they are going to cruise away from relegation trouble.
However, one area of the pitch where you wouldn’t expect them to need to strengthen is in goal, where Martin Dubravka is in place as a quality number one, with Karl Darlow a decent back up and Freddie Woodman on loan at Swansea City as the future star.
Despite that, though, the Northern Echo reported on Monday that the Magpies are watching Trabzonspor shot-stopper Ugurcan Cakir.
This is a potential swoop that is surely a complete no go, though, and for a number of reasons. Firstly, the report states that his price tag is £17million, while also maintaining that the club will be looking to do inexpensive deals come January after breaking their transfer record twice in the past two windows.
Secondly, Premier League giants Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are said to also be interested in signing the Turkey international.
The biggest roadblock for Newcastle with Cakir, though, is Dubravka himself. The Slovakian international is firmly entrenched as the team’s starter, and is a pretty damn good ‘keeper besides. With that said, are the Magpies really going to spend £17million to bring in someone who will likely merely serve as his back up?
Cakir is a solid goalkeeper, though. As per WhoScored.com, the 23-year-old is averaging 4.1 saves per game this season, with 2.4 of those saves coming from within the penalty area.
Dubravka, on the other hand, is only making 3.3 per outing, with only one of them coming inside the penalty area, as per the same website.
Unfortunately for those Newcastle fans hoping to see Cakir in a black and white shirt sometime soon, though, the presence of the team’s current number one likely prohibits that from happening.
