With the dodgy situation with Demba Ba’s contract, it’s clear that Graham Carr and Newcastle’s scouting staff will be scouring Europe looking for a striker, that the club can bring in during January, just in case a club comes in for Demba Ba, and meets the release price of £7M for the top striker.
The Italian web-site CalcioMercato.com are reporting that Newcastle have 25 year-old Stuttgart forward Martin Harnik as one of their possible targets and Martin can play either as a striker or a winger.
Harnick was born in Hamburg to a German mother and an Austrian father, and he joined Stuttgart from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2010, and he has a decent record there with 36 goals and 22 assists in his 84 appearances for the club.
He didn’t get much playing time at Werder Bremen making only 13 appearances with one goal, and while he was on loan at Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2009 and 2010, he scored 13 goals and had 3 assists in his 30 appearances.
Harnick stands 6’1″ tall and has appeared 29 times with 7 goals for Austria, although he was also qualified to play for Germany.
It;’s hard to know whether this lad would be a good signing, but we’re sure Graham Carr’s instructions are toe scout some strikers for Newcastle before the end of the year, just in case Demba Ba leaves the club.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
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12 comments so far
RonVanDam
Sep 25, 2012 at 9:44 AM
Comment #1Would be a back up but no Demba Ba. Remy is still better
nickfish90
Sep 25, 2012 at 9:44 AM
Comment #2Well i think it’s clear for all to see that we need to bring in another young up and coming striker in the January window – haven’t heard much about this lad but his record speaks for itself.
If Carr recommends him then he must have something about him. Paper talk atm. though but I imagine we have scouts watching him.
In Carr We Trust!
numba9
Sep 25, 2012 at 9:49 AM
Comment #3Seen the lad play a couple of times and looks very decent
stuart no9
Sep 25, 2012 at 9:51 AM
Comment #4here we go again !
Ben3arfa
Sep 25, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Comment #5Harnik is Austrian not German
RonVanDam
Sep 25, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Comment #6Woohoo 1 more month before we face 5under1and at the Stadium of Shite
RonVanDam
Sep 25, 2012 at 10:03 AM
Comment #7If we win 3 of our next 4 games, we should be in the top 6
Next 4 opponents are: Reading(a), Man Utd(h), 5under1and(a) and West Brom(h)
wynsleap
Sep 25, 2012 at 10:25 AM
Comment #8Keep hearing about this boring release clause in Ba’s contract. Surely all the best teams around can trigger it to their hearts content but if Ba doesn’t want to move it means nothing.
Unless of course Demba really DOES want to move??
shanghai fan
Sep 25, 2012 at 4:17 PM
Comment #9Goals to match ratio doesn’t look that high, so probably would not be a like for like with Ba.
Don’t think it was a coincidence that Ba and Cisse’s goals to match ratio was very good, despite being in mid to poor teams. I think that is one reason why they settled in/scored so many goals for us in their first year.
Another reason also being cabaye assists, and all round passing that seems to make chances happen.
G
Sep 25, 2012 at 4:41 PM
Comment #10@ post 9. I don’t think like-for-like is the way to go should Ba leave, as it’s looking like all those who suggested last season that Ba and Cisse don’t complement each other a striking pair, might have been right. We need a striker who compliments Cisse’s finishing really. Not really sure Harnik is the answer like, but GC knows what he is on about so I would defer to him on this one.
mot7
Sep 25, 2012 at 5:21 PM
Comment #11yeah we can track him all the way to another club as the norm
widowmagandapoke
Sep 25, 2012 at 5:22 PM
Comment #12The press do a lot of talking in the Ba ‘is he unhappy’ chat.
He says he is happy. In the words of P MCarty Let it Be.