Newcastle United’s future has very little clarity at the moment. A lot of excitement surrounded the club when takeover news first emerged but the situation is still the same as it was a few months ago.
The Magpies’ summer transfer plans have no clarity either. Will the new owners arrive and pump in millions or will Mike Ashley remain at the club, forcing them to be less ambitious than they would have wanted?
Only time will tell what kind of players Newcastle will target this summer. However the one area they definitely need to strengthen, irrespective of what happens with their takeover, is up front.
Newcastle need a new striker
Newcastle’s record signing Joelinton has had a very poor campaign in his debut season. The Brazilian has struggled massively and, despite Dwight Gayle’s recent good form, the Magpies need a new, prolific striker.
BILD reported last week that Newcastle were battling Arsenal to sign Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst this summer. The 6ft 6in giant has had a brilliant season in Germany, scoring 20 goals in all competitions.
The Dutchman is a consistent performer having scored at least 15 goals in each of his last five seasons.
Newcastle’s reported interest in him was wonderful news for the club but are they really interested? Kicker has come out with a conflicting report saying that neither the Magpies nor Arsenal have contacted or even expressed an interest to sign Weghorst this summer.
That is understandable considering the Magpies are distracted with their remaining Premier League games as well as the uncertainty surrounding the ownership of their club.
However, players of Weghorst’s calibre won’t be available on the market for a long time, and waiting for a decision on their takeover before they express an interest in him will give other clubs an opportunity to swoop.
Kicker have claimed that Wolfsburg are prepared to let him leave if an attractive offer comes this summer. That will alert a number of clubs who are looking for a striker, which is bad news for Newcastle.
The Magpies should make some sort of a move for the prolific Dutchman very soon or they will regret missing out on him, possibly to a Premier League rival in the very near future.
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