Ben Osborn or Tom Cairney; who do stats suggest Newcastle United should target?

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Newcastle United may be torn between the respective playmakers of Nottingham Forest and Fulham.

Newcastle United may be top of the Championship, with a vastly superior goal difference to second placed Brighton to boot, but that does not mean that Rafael Benitez can afford to rest on his laurels and be content with the options at his disposal – especially with regards to central midfield, as reported by the Daily Mirror.

The Magpies’ impressive tally of 69 strikes in the second tier should not detract from a lack of creativity in central midfield that has threatened to derail their title challenge on occasions.

The five games Jonjo Shelvey missed through suspension after the festive period act as a stark reminder that beyond, the in-form playmaker, none of Newcastle’s other central midfielders are capable of scoring or assisting with any regularity.

Mo Diame, Jack Colback and Isaac Hayden have just four goals and five assists between them and failed to step up to the plate with Shelvey forced to sit on the sidelines for an extended period.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Benitez has made Nottingham Forest’s Ben Osborn, a natural wideman who has played through the middle on occasions, a top summer target, according to the Daily Mirror.

This would suggest that their interest in Fulham’s Tom Cairney, as reported by The Chronicle, has been shelved, potentially due to his mooted £20 million price tag.

Although a quick glance at a number of key stats suggest that, while it’s a stretch to suggest Cairney would be worth such a monstrous fee, he clearly contributes far more in the final third than the more subtle, diminutive Osborn.

Championship stats 2016/17

Yet, if Newcastle should learn anything from two relegations in less than a decade, it is that thriving in the Premier League is almost impossible when you’re unwilling to splash out and make genuine improvements to the starting XI.