Newcastle United are still searching for a new number one but is Tomasz Kuszczak really the man for the job?
Just over a month ago, Sky Sports reported that Newcastle United had enquired about taking Manchester City’s Joe Hart on a season-long loan.
The 30-year-old’s reputation may have taken a battering in the last twelve months after being frozen out by City and suffering humiliation at Euro 2016 but he remains a two-time Premier League champion and England’s number one with 71 caps to his name.
Failing that, the report claimed Newcastle were also hoping to land Pepe Reina from Napoli, reuniting the 2010 World Cup champion with Rafael Benitez, the manager who brought him to English football with Liverpool.
Six weeks on, however, the Premier League season is up and running and no new goalkeepers have arrived through the door of St James’ Park. Hart has joined West Ham and Reina looks set to remain in Serie A.
And it appears that the standard of Newcastle’s targets has dropped considerably. Because the Birmingham Mail reports that Newcastle have shown an interest in Birmingham City’s Tomasz Kuszczak.
The 11-time Polish international did win the Champions League and four Premier League titles with Manchester United but those days are a long time gone. Kuszczak hasn’t played top flight football in five years and is now second choice at Birmingham after they landed David Stockdale from Brighton.
Therefore, it’s fair to say Newcastle fans aren’t running to the nearest club shop to get the 35-year-old’s consonant-heavy name on the back of their shirts.
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