Eddie Howe vowed yesterday to not stop until a couple of attacking players are added to his squad. He made a sobering admission that the number of targets is now quite small.
Here is some of what Howe told Sky Sports on Tuesday:
“The pool of players we are looking at is actually quite small. It’s not a huge amount of names. That’s why the deals become difficult.”
The shortlist could be shrinking by the day as other clubs continue to siphon from Newcastle’s pool of targets. There are reports today on three of our targets that could be a cause for concern.
Fabrizio Romano is reporting that interest in RB Salzburg’s Benjamin Sesko is increasing. Manchester United are contemplating a push to land the promising striker, who has been compared to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, due to his size and pace.
Key days for Benjamin Šeško’s future with contacts ongoing. Manchester United know they have to be fast on this deal, after meeting with agent days ago. ??? #MUFC
There are 2 more clubs in the race.
Šeško will make a decision soon with his agent and family. pic.twitter.com/c0aHN74c9y
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 3, 2022
Newcastle have yet to make a concerted push for Sesko. Though after his agent’s antics on Tyneside last month, local journalists confirmed the Slovenian was on our shortlist. Like many of our other targets, his price tag could be too lofty this summer.
Another striker whose price tag kept Newcastle at bay earlier in the window is Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Widely considered Howe’s preferred striker entering the summer, Everton’s valuation made bidding a pointless endeavor.
There were claims Newcastle would wait to make an offer until later in the window and see if Calvert-Lewin’s head was turned. However, that option may have been taken off the table with the news the striker has suffered yet another injury.
The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe is reporting Calvert-Lewin is in doubt for Everton’s season opener against Chelsea this weekend. From the tone of his article, it could be another significant injury for the 25-year-old.
Accurate detail on the severity of this is scarce on this & with what happened last season everyone around #Dominic Calvert-Lewin is being v protective and guarded but it’s worrying news for #Everton https://t.co/KopdxzlMMv
— Greg O'Keeffe (@GregOK) August 3, 2022
One target that seems like a straightforward proposition is Burnley’s Maxwel Cornet. Talks have been held on a structured deal that would surpass his £17.5m release clause. However, Newcastle went for Leicester’s James Maddison over the weekend.
West Ham are now leading the chase for the 25-year-old. With Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic now off the table as Juventus try to land the Serbian international, the Hammers have turned their attention to Cornet. Though they are also in the process of snapping up Lille’s excellent young midfielder Amadou Onana.
As just discussed on @talkSPORT #WHUFC are in for Maxwel Cornet after failing to agree deal for Kostic. Believe they are looking at a permanent deal. https://t.co/r2OScgCmNC
— Alex Crook ????? (@alex_crook) August 3, 2022
Newcastle could have some targets who haven’t hit the headlines just yet. The bid for Maddison came straight out of the blue over the weekend. Hopefully, the pool is a bit larger than Howe is letting on with some unknown gems waiting to be snapped up.
257 comments so far
carltoon
Aug 3, 2022 at 3:57 PM
Comment #41NYmag, yes I remember he’s from your neck of the woods,
Taken some artistic license then.
carltoon
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:00 PM
Comment #42Did Caulkin not write SBR book, and that phrase about the young boy walking up the steps for the first time, was that not attributed to him? Or was that an other journo
ToonDarnSarf
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:01 PM
Comment #43Ruddy – I think we are aligned. Some people like to think that we’ll do really well on the basis of everything aligning perfectly but most of us know that’s not realistic. Not to mention that the competition are not a bunch of chumps, they’re also working very hard to improve this season and finish above us.
I have to ask the people on here who think we’ll finish top 4: if we finish 6th, are you actually going to be disappointed? What about if we finish 8th? 10th?
carltoon
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:02 PM
Comment #44There is some fantastic pictures and videos of parents walking up the steps with their kids, and the children’s face when they reach the top of them steps.
Priceless
Toon fans bad
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:04 PM
Comment #45I use that TransferMarkt quite a lot when curious about player value, playing stats, injuries etc. Decent resource it is. Have to say I agree with most of their player market values. You can list the whole Premier league player market values and where Maddison sits is about right I reckon at 45 mill.
Interestingly they don’t use algorithms to get to that value, they use community opinion after considering a shit load of variables about each individual player.
Here’s them explaining how they do it.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.in/transfermarkt-market-value-explained-how-is-it-determined-/view/news/385100#:~:text=Transfermarkt%20does%20not%20use%20an,and%20situational%20parameters%20outlined%20below.
Toon fans bad
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:07 PM
Comment #46Apologies, you can only list the top 100 most valuable players I think.
CLINT FLICK
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:09 PM
Comment #47Ruddy
That comes across as, ‘literally’ seeming to want to piss on someone’s chips, mate.
The constant attempts to mitigate for any, even the slightest, optimism could be construed as rather wearing.
Or at least continuous.
Eeesh! Man.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:11 PM
Comment #48TDS
Not to contradict any of our fans or temper optimism but I seriously doubt even the most hopeful and optimistic of fans genuinely believe we could reach top 4. I noticed Bills son has predicted 5th this season which I found to be incredibly optimistic. A lot of stars would need to perfectly align for that to happen.
I would prefer to be good than to be lucky as the former is much more sustainable than the latter. I also take it as a given that we will be better than we were last season, but don’t feel we have made sufficient progress with attacking signings to be significantly better than those we are competing against. As ever, that comes with the caveat that there’s still 4 weeks left in the window with a lot of time for things to change. A marquee signing or two and I may be one of those predicting we finish top 6, so who knows?
Bobbybee
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:14 PM
Comment #49GWH. I’m with you re Maddison. Not worth 60m for a start and like you I get the impression he’s not a real team player and if he got dropped I can see him being a problem for Eddie. Maybe that explains the loss of his England place? Might be worth Eddie having a chat with Southgate in private about why he’s been discarded?
We’ve got a fantastic dressing room attitude and it shows. We don’t want that boat rocking for sure.
Personally and tactically I wouldn’t buy anybody from Leicester.. They can’t buy until they sell and we know from personal experience that if you’re not moving forward you’re falling back. Let them keep him. Let them go into this season unchanged and watch them struggle. Teams work you out extremely quickly in this league unless you keep evolving. Vardy is slowing down, goals will get harder to come by.
Maddison’s attitude is well reflected in their fan base. Serve them right if they did struggle and we’d see their attendance drop rapidly again. Wave them bye bye as we climb above and beyond them for keeps.
cleveleysbob
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:14 PM
Comment #50C’mon Ruddy, you know you want to. 😉
carltoon
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:14 PM
Comment #51I’ll be pleased If we win at home, we finish where we finish, I’ve got us finishing fifth, and two cup finals.
Do i think we’ll achieve that, who knows, we dare to dream again.
I think most Newcastle fans are dreamers, it might be a Geordie thing, I always went into the season, dreaming we’d do well.the past fourteen or so years, have mostly ended in failure, where i would think I’ll never go back under Ashley!
Then the new season starts, and here we go again. Finishing in the top ten would not be a disaster, we’ll only know how we feel at the end of the season.
ToonDarnSarf
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:14 PM
Comment #52TfB – that’s interesting that they say they don’t use an algorithm but then list a bunch of things that form part of the calculation for valuation. Seems to be that they do use an algorithm, albeit not a 100% automated one, just a set of rules that they have people to adjust manually as the community opinion decides.
And I agree, they have some good stuff there.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:15 PM
Comment #53Clint
I’m not mitigating against anyone’s optimism, merely expressing my opinion as well as sharing my rationale behind it. I did concede that things could line up for us like they did last season, we could get lucky with injuries and we could see some of the bigger teams underperform all of which could see us finish top 8 or even top 6.
A lot of things need to happen outside of our control for that to happen though and I am believer in controlling the things we can control rather than blindly hoping against hope.
If you find my posts repetitive or boring or negative, feel free to skip them on by though mate.
The Mighty Quinn
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:16 PM
Comment #54Well if 9th or 10th is pragmatic then I don’t know what my 12th is (realist perhaps). As of right now we’re about the same as last season regards to keepers, we have a better defence, our midfield without Bruno and Joelinton isn’t great. We have one decent forward in Wilson, don’t care what the Wood fluffers say he’s not good enough over a large period if Wilson is out. So in my opinion we need these two attacking additions or we stagnate.
Mund
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:17 PM
Comment #55I always had faith the takeover would go through and people at the time on here gave me a bit of stick for having that opinion and the way I’d talk about a new era upon us etc
I got told then that I wasn’t being realistic or when I said for the last two years we wouldn’t get relegated or even dare say we weren’t in a relegation battle last season…
I got told I wasn’t being realistic…
In fact every time I’ve been told I’m not being realistic etc etc it’s all bore fruition…
So what is realism is sport..,?
I think there is many perceptions of what that can be.
theartfuldodger
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:17 PM
Comment #56Isnt it easier with a smaller pool of targets ? I would think if the pool is large there would be a lot more permutations and combinations in terms of bidding, negotiating etc.
Perhaps what Howe meant was that its difficult to get one over the line if the pool is small which makes sense.
On Maddison, perhaps we have left a nibble in for January. Tielemens in his final year may barely fetch 25m. Also none of the press stories are coherent.
Heres hoping for Sesko. Fabrizio Romano has said this week is crucial for him.
cleveleysbob
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:18 PM
Comment #57Bobby, given what we’ve been told about Eddie and his way of assessing players, if everything we’ve seen/read about Maddison is true, then it begs the question “are we really in for him”? Or is the whole charade a smokescreen for something else?
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:18 PM
Comment #58Mighty Quinn
You’re predicting 12th and I’m the one getting pelters for being negative or pissing on people’s chips?! Lol
Mister Tuff
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:19 PM
Comment #59Wow a couple from the “Les Miserables” of the blog are suggesting (more or less) that we are not going to do very well this season.
Have some positive confidence in the team/club/coach you miserable swine.
ToonDarnSarf
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:19 PM
Comment #60TMQ – I’d say your prediction of 12th is on the negative side to be honest. I think the top 6 is very unlikely but for 5 other clubs to finish above us would indicate to me that we’ve had a poor season.
I think you’re the kind of person who is more likely to be happy with our season though rather than unhappy if we finish 8th…
Mund
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:21 PM
Comment #61Bobbybee
Did you get Neil’s email?
carltoon
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:21 PM
Comment #62Ganon Bobby Bee! New season new optimism,
What happened to we only want a team that tries.
HWTL.
I can’t wait for the game on Saturday, and if we don’t win, I’ll do what I’ve always do, stay off all social media, give the blog a miss fir a !east a week. Then we go again.
Sir Pugalot, the Dutch Bulldog
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:22 PM
Comment #63Bob, the Puglet loves his Premier Cru Chablis.
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:22 PM
Comment #64CBob
Want to what? Come over from the dark side of the force? Haha
I’m optimistic in my own way. I can’t help that I have a hyper-logical brain which relies on stats and tangibles. Granted, sport is fantastic in that it incorporates so many intangibles such as a manager’s ability to derive greater performances from players because of their coaching and inspiration, or the crowd’s ability to impact the side etc.
I am the first to say that I hope my predictions are wildly wrong and we win the bloody league haha
cleveleysbob
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:24 PM
Comment #65I’m pretty chilled. For the 1st time in donkeys we won’t be fighting a relegation battle!! Fab.
Anything above last years 11th and early round exits in cups is progress.
Do I want more, of course, I’m a fan, I want to win every game. Will we? Of course not but it’s nice to dream of possibilities again instead of entering every season with trepidation.
As I said earlier, I’m looking forward to it.
Scythe
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:26 PM
Comment #66Tfb
Transfermarkt might have Maddison at that price but a few things will bump it upwards such as him being English (which seems to make a difference these days?), our added Saudi tax because we’re rich and Leicester wanting maximum income to help them out buying new players.
Those three things alone probably push his price from 45M up to around 50M-60M at least.
cleveleysbob
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:28 PM
Comment #67Brilliant Ruddy, that’s more like it, let’s win the league together HWTL 😀
The Mighty Quinn
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:29 PM
Comment #68Yeah I’m fine with finishing 12th, can finish in that position and not have to worry about relegation, which is a step up from last season which was a relegation battle till March.
cleveleysbob
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:29 PM
Comment #69Peter, he has good taste, I was very disappointed they had no stock.
DrGloom
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:30 PM
Comment #70Mund – tend to think you have toon tinted specs , in fact not even tinted but fully painted over in black and white 😉
Pat Mania
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:30 PM
Comment #71If howes preferred choice is really Calvert-Lewin I’d doubt he’ll be here more than 3 years
CLINT FLICK
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:33 PM
Comment #72Ruddy
Way of the world bro.
You seem hell bent on getting ya world vuew to fly, fair enough, i have to deal with that at hyem everyday.
Other people have opinions too, not talking about myself here.
I’m bpretty sure they don’t wanna hear the other side at every utterance, like.
I guess we could just make this a fact check blog. That could be fun, i suppose?
Ruddy Marveaux-lous
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:35 PM
Comment #73Clint
You seem to take issue with my opinons for no other reason than you disagree with them. How is me expressing my views any different to someone, whose views you do agree with, expressing their’s?
cleveleysbob
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:38 PM
Comment #74Here’s a theory.
There’s 38 games to play, we’ll get beat home and away by Pool and City.
That leaves 34 games. We’ll win all the home games, that’s 51 points. From the remaining 17 away fixtures I reckon we can get 17 points, that’s a few wins, a few draws and a few losses.
(4 wins, 5 draws, 8 losses)
That equates to an average return of less than 2 points per game across the whole season.
68 points achievable.
If we do that, I’d expect us to finish 4th – 7th.
Mund
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:41 PM
Comment #75Newcastle United FC
@NUFC
Behind-the-scenes at our 2022/23 media access day!
https://mobile.twitter.com/NUFC/status/1554854721172774912
cleveleysbob
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:41 PM
Comment #76Now if I can just get all my predictions right, I just might win Jeff’s £million !! 😆
Mund
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:42 PM
Comment #77Gloom
Is that a bad thing…? 😎
I see things for what they are mate and it’s never failed me yet
DrGloom
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:46 PM
Comment #78Bob, can’t see us winning all home games other than pool and city.. think arsenal, spurs and chelsea will be tough and we’ll no doubt have the odd surprise result against us
Away we might do a bit better though, I’m going for high 50s / low 60s which should get us around 7th/8th
DrGloom
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:48 PM
Comment #79Mund, nowt wrong with that mate, I see things for what they are too…. even if we see the same things differently sometimes 😀
Mund
Aug 3, 2022 at 4:49 PM
Comment #80Gloom 😆 fair