Newcastle United are expected to be “one of the busier” top flight clubs in the Premier League over January, according to a report from the Chronicle.
The piece refers to the opinions of agents and intermediaries, suggesting that the Toon Army are being lined up by many as a club that they could potentially do business with in the winter transfer window.
It also claims that Steve Bruce will have a greater say over recruitment this time around.
The article reads: “Agents and intermediaries gearing up for January business believe Newcastle United will be one of the busier top flight clubs in the next transfer window.
“The word on the transfer market grapevine is that Newcastle are looking to strengthen in a couple of positions if there’s a deal that works for them.
“Central midfield and attacking positions are being targeted with third parties trying to push players to the club’s hierarchy and Steve Bruce, who brings his own set of contacts and recommendations to the table after a summer window in which his role was more to rubber stamp arrivals who had been teed up months before he arrived.”
OPINION
This has to be good news for Newcastle United, surely. The Magpies have actually done a fairly admirable job of turning their season around in the past couple of weeks, and they’ve gone from being surefire relegation fodder to potential table-climbers. Obviously, it’s still early doors, and anything can change over the next few months, but in terms a general feeling of optimism, this is probably about as good as things have been since Steve Bruce took over. Beyond that, your only concerns would probably be the usual reservations that plague anything to do with Mike Ashley’s transfer policy. Will he be willing to spend enough to land the right players? If he goes cheap, will the scouting be thorough enough to ensure that the Toon Army aren’t buying duds? Only time will tell, but it’s surely better to be buying than not.