Newcastle were linked with Wolves striker Benik Afobe in the summer but at one point Steve McClaren said Newcastle were not after the England U21 striker.
But with Newcastle’s terrible start to this season, we expect the Newcastle Board to be working hard behind the scenes to line up some players the club can bring in to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window.
Benik Afobe – Wolves 22 year-old striker
Whatever Steve McClaren says the facts (as in the results) suggest that Newcastle do not have a good enough squad for the Premier League and we could be facing yet another season fighting relegation.
And this is following on immediately after last season’s nightmare with John Carver as the interim head coach.
Wolves put a £14M price tag on the striker late in the summer but if Newcastle’s position in the Premier League is not vastly improved by the end of the year then Newcastle may have to fork out some big money to bring their targets in during January.
And it would be a lot better and a lot safer if we brought in some British players even if they are more expensive than those from the continent.
Players from the continent tend to take some time to adjust to the Premier League.
Afobe was a target of Norwich last summer, but they were only willing to pay up to £8M for the striker and it will take more than that to get the 22 year-old on Tyneside.
The 6ft tall striker has scored 19 goals in 33 appearances for the Molineux club since he joined them in January from Arsenal, for a fee believed to be only £2M.
This season he has hit six goals in 12 games for his club.
The youngster spent time while on Arsenal’s books on loan at Huddersfield, Bolton, Milwall, Sheffield Wednesday and MK Dons, and he played a total of 129 appearances with 25 goals and 17 assists – so he can create goals as well as score them.
We expect Benik to be one of many players Newcastle will scout through he end of the year and then line up a number to come in during January.
The very last thing Mike Ashley wants this season is to be relegated and miss out on all that Premier League money next season when the new £5B three-year TV deal will start.
Comments welcome.
48 comments so far
will die for the toon army
Oct 4, 2015 at 7:44 AM
Comment #41Charlie
With wat I have seen so far? If we survive I will b so happy I wld kiss a frog. Poorest teams:
1. Stoke
2. WBA
3. NUFC
4. Mackems
5. Villa
Guys dont see the fixture list how hard it was?? Am a crazy fan I expect us to win every game but wen we lose I understand I watch game per game I never speculate
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Oct 4, 2015 at 7:47 AM
Comment #42Will die…under normal circumstances I would agree, but the club just gets back what itself puts into it!
…poor attitude
will die for the toon army
Oct 4, 2015 at 7:52 AM
Comment #43Ron Knee
There will always b someone to blame at a football club. Thats wat football is all abt.
cyprus
Oct 4, 2015 at 8:05 AM
Comment #44Still trying to understand what happened. From toe to toe with this year’s champs, when we should have been leading 0-2 as a perfect goal was dismissed by a dumb lines man; to a total collapse. Few teams can achieve this.
The blog and others (e.g see tweets, sport programmes) were full of praise, then full of condemnation. Only NUFC man.
So we start the blame game once more and, as I noted last night, it’s getting ugly. It’s ok for the fans to do this. Of course, the reason we are divided is because no one is solely to blame. The owner is de facto responsible since the buck stops with him. The scout for his crap choices and limited country vision. The coach for not getting the tactics right and his surely amazing half time talk. That psychology guy for ‘inspiring’ the players to an incredible defeat. The young guy for building (dismantling) his CV on our backs. The players for not beeing good enough. The fans for not sticking with the team through thin and thin. etc.
giimps
Oct 4, 2015 at 8:11 AM
Comment #45Looks to me like we’re going through what Martinez went through at Everton, trying to play total football , possession based with no plan b, the players went to him and said we need to speed up the attacks, get the ball forward quicker and to lukaku asap, they got better through that……….we would too, playing Norwich and sunlin next 2 will give us a better idea how good or poor we are.
For me though, collo and sissoko need rested and dummet and Aaron’s need put on in there place
TroubledToon
Oct 4, 2015 at 8:32 AM
Comment #46Now for the next 4 months, we’ll hear about how good this kid is… How badly we want him.. Perfect age for Newcastle blah blah blah… No formal bid will be made, He’ll b at Wolves…. Or another “smaller” club will sign him…. Yawwwwwwwwn
Next article plz Ed
Wulfrunian
Oct 4, 2015 at 11:27 AM
Comment #47No.1 ‘Springy’ – I don’t know where your info’ comes from that Afobe wants PL football.
He has constantly said he is happy at Wolves and needs to acclimatise to Championship level before making any move to the PL, so a move in January would be a complete waste of time so looking elsewhere may prove a more successful move?
More importantly I would suggest a new manager would be a top priority as McLaren has failed at every English job to date but there is someone out there who would undoubtably put Newcastle back at the top….. Jurgen Klopp….. BUT
would Astley employ him as I have read that he only wants a coach and not a manager!
sloveniangeordie
Oct 4, 2015 at 12:31 PM
Comment #48We don’t need striker, we need defender. And good one, not that crap we have in our squad allready. We should sell Coloccini, he is worst defender in PL history. And don’t know why keep in our team defenders like Williamson (crap), Taylor (always injuried), Lascelles (unexpirienced for PL) and Haidara (crap). I think those five players should say goodbye in january (Lascelles on loan, the others sell them) and bring good substitutions for them. Also give youngsters Satka, Mbabu and Good oportunity to show their quality. I think they can give us more than Coloccini, Williamson or Haidara.