Newcastle United have five strikers…at least according to Steve Bruce.
Newcastle United ended their pre-season preparations on Saturday afternoon, beating Saint-Etienne 2-1 at St James’ Park.
The Magpies claimed the win thanks to goals from Joelinton and Matty Longstaff, before Mathieu Debuchy grabbed a late consolation.
Newcastle will now look to beat Arsenal next weekend, but any fans hoping for some additional firepower may be left massively disappointed.
Steve Bruce, shortly after taking charge of Newcastle at St James’ Park for the first time, spoke to the media about his attacking options.
Bruce denied that Newcastle will be pursuing a centre forward before Thursday’s transfer deadline, as he claims he has five strikers already.
That left fans baffled. Joelinton is the only natural centre forward, with Yoshinori Muto and Dwight Gayle more diminutive options who feed off a big man.
This seemingly hints that Bruce sees playmaker Miguel Almiron as a striker, having used the 25-year-old star up alongside Joelinton in pre-season.
Almiron is yet to even score for Newcastle, so branding him as a striker is somewhat comical, whilst it may also suggest that new signing Allan Saint-Maximin will be used in a similar role.
That means Newcastle fans are unlikely to see Joelinton, Almiron and Saint-Maximin together as things stand, believing that Bruce’s comments are ‘mental’ and ‘insanity’, as Almiron isn’t a striker for one, and he’s damaging Newcastle’s attack by leaving one of the exciting trio on the bench.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
