Newcastle United look set to add Norwich City’s Jacob Murphy and former Sunderland defender Javier Manquillo to their squad.
After weeks of frustration and intensifying speculation that Rafael Benitez could be about to walk away from his long-term Newcastle United dream, The Magpies are finally making a breakthrough in the summer transfer market.
At the beginning of the week, Eibar defender Florian Lejeune and Chelsea winger Christian Atsu were the only two players to put pen to paper at St James’ Park since they lifted the Championship title at the end of last season.
However, as reported by the Daily Mail, Jacob Murphy has now completed a dream move to his boyhood club, signing from Norwich City after they agreed a £12 million deal for the England Under-21 winger. And Atletico Madrid right-back Javier Manquillo, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, is set to follow him to Tyneside.
Murphy netted nine times for Norwich in the 2016/17 Championship
However, it’s fair to say the aforementioned quartet hardly guarantee that Newcastle will thrive upon their return to the top flight. Murphy and Lejeune have never played a minute of Premier League football in their career while Manquillo and Atsu have flattered to deceive in previous spells at the top of the English game.
And Benitez’s honest comments on his new additions may bring some supporters back down to earth after a positive couple of days.
“We are not signing top-class players in the Premier League, we are signing the players we can and the players who can do a job for us,” he told The Chronicle.
Clearly, it will take more than a former Sunderland full-back for Newcastle to return to the relative glory days of fighting for Europe at the top end of the table.
With their current squad, a top half finish or mid-table mediocrity would represent a hugely successful campaign. Though if Benitez and Newcastle want to push on in the coming years, the club may need to invest a little more ambitiously.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez
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