Speculation surrounding who will arrive at St James’ Park in the summer has been scattergun, to say the least.
Newcastle United have been linked with the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Kalidou Koulibaly, along with the considerably more realistic rumour of a permanent deal for Danny Rose. Although, who will actually arrive on Tyneside this summer remains a mystery. Still, it appears unlikely that Bruce will be given the opportunity to break Joelinton’s record £40m signing, given his budget will reportedly be £50m.
With takeover speculation looming in the background, it must be difficult for the Toon to plan ahead for this summer, but Steve Bruce has suggested than fans may not be in for the spending spree that media speculation has suggested.
What did he say?
Speaking to the Mirror, Bruce stated: “I would envisage our budget is not going to be as big as what it was going to be in January before this all started. There are big discussions to be had, but we are still always trying to go and find another player or two, or three, or four.”
The Magpies boss added: “That’s always going to be my job – we’ll knock on and break down the door because my job is to make sure we are competitive when we start up again.”
“It’s a difficult league, and spending money doesn’t guarantee you anything. It makes it a little bit easier, but recruitment is key, and certainly, Allan [Saint-Maximin] and [Miguel] Almiron have improved us at crucial times,” said Bruce.
Success can come cheap
Some fans may be disgruntled at the fact that it appears Newcastle will not have the budget that has been suggested for this season and that deals for players such as Koulibaly and Coutinho seem to be out of reach financially. However, Bruce is right in stating that spending doesn’t guarantee success and the Toon only have to look as far as two-goal Joelinton for evidence.
In January West Ham appear to have made two incredibly astute signings, bringing in Tomas Soucek from Slavia Prague on-loan with an option to buy for £13m, as well as bringing in Jarrod Bowen for around £20m. The duo already have four goals and four assists between them in 11 appearances each. That is the category of player Newcastle should be scouting for and precisely what Bruce suggested when referencing Almiron and Saint-Maximin improving the squad at crucial times.
Based on Bruce’s comments, Newcastle may not be able to lavish money away this summer, but this squad can still experience improvement on a budget if the Magpies recruit shrewdly.
