Davies and Worrall linked: Have Newcastle made a defender their January priority?

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Premier League outfit Newcastle United have been linked with Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall and Preston North End’s Ben Davies, plus Koray Gunter.

In the first two months of the new season, Newcastle have sealed famous wins against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur while keeping clean sheets in both games. Its just a shame, then, that these outstanding results are anomalies in an otherwise desperate start to the Steve Bruce era.

Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar were in outstanding form on Sunday but the fact that this is the worst Manchester United side in living memory should not be forgotten. Just seven days earlier, Lascelles and Schar looked out of their depth in a 5-0 thrashing at Leicester City and, in truth, Marcus Rashford and co really didn’t test the hosts as much as they ought to.

Nor should that collapse against Norwich or that draw against bottom of the table Watford. The Magpies were superb against Ole Gunnar Solskajer’s hell-bound Red Devils but it would be foolish to get carried away.

Newcastle’s defence still needs reinforcements. And it seems that they have a few in mind too.

According to The Sun, Newcastle are interested in Joe Worrall, a highly-rated centre-back who has risen through the ranks to become a leader on and off the pitch at Nottingham Forest – just like Lascelles himself all those years ago.

Worrall is not the only Championship defender on Newcastle’s radar. Preston North End’s £10 million-rated Ben Davies has admirers on Tyneside as well, the Sun adds.

As does Koray Gunter, the German stopper who has made a huge impact since joining Hellas Verona on loan from Genoa. Calciomercato claimed recently that The Magpies were mulling over a £9 million January bid after watching the one-time Borussia Dortmund youngster produce a superb performance in a 0-0 Serie A draw with Udinese. He’s calm, classy and an excellent reader of the game.

Steve Bruce knows better than anyone that Newcastle need more options at the back with neither Ciaran Clark nor Federico Fernandez looking like genuine long-term options. Watch this space with January just a few months away.