Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has missed out on signing Stevan Jovetic twice already – Southampton could leave him frustrated again.
Newcastle United supporters made it very clear in the summer that they were far from amused by the club’s rather ramshackle recruitment policy.
With under-fire owner Mike Ashley claiming he was unable to compete with the transfer fees being thrown around by Newcastle’s Premier League rivals, the returning Magpies missed out on a number of their prime targets while being comfortably outspent by the likes of Huddersfield Town.
And with Newcastle’s hitherto impressive start to the season crumbling on the back of one win in six, the club’s lack of quality summer additions is starting to catch up to them.
So if Southampton manage to pull off a deal for a player Rafa Benitez wanted badly in the summer then, Magpies supporters would once again have a right to ask questions of the club’s ambition.
The Mail reported in August that Benitez was hoping to bring Inter Milan forward Stevan Jovetic to Tyneside. Benitez wanted both a striker and a number ten – the stylish Montenegrin attacker combines both roles in one.
However, after missing out on Jovetic during his spell in charge of Liverpool, Newcastle’s Spanish manager was left frustrated again as they were priced out of a move for a forward who eventually joined Monaco for just £10 million.
The former Manchester City youngster is understood to be unhappy at the Ligue 1 champions, however, and is once again being linked with a return to England. Goal-shy Southampton are understood to be keen, per The Mirror.
Though with Newcastle scoring just four times in their last six games, Joselu and Dwight Gayle proving once and for all that they aren’t Premier League quality, The Magpies surely can’t afford to sit back and let Southampton nab Jovetic from under their nose.
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