Getty Images Minority owner Amanda Staveley says Newcastle have “ worked indefatigably ” to prepare for it — music to director Eddie Howe ‘s ears, who urgently needs to strengthen his side to start 2022 .
Newcastle enter the halfway-stage of the temper second-bottom on barely 11 points, with their sole gain coming against colleague strugglers Burnley on December 4. After a 2-0 get the better of at Arsenal in November, the Magpies had good seven points — and no Premier League side has gone on to stay up when on that reckoning after 13 games. Despite a 4-0 family loss to Manchester City on December 19, Newcastle did avoid the awful curse of being bottom on Christmas Day, though … but only on goal dispute. They had the same 10-point total as 20th-placed Norwich, so the fact alone West Bromwich Albion ( 2004-05 ), Sunderland ( 2013-14 ) and Leicester City ( 2014-15 ) have stayed up when at the foot of the table on December 25 however underlines the tall task Howe faces .
death season just 29 points was needed to avoid the drop, but it ‘s probable a minimum of 32 will be required to stand a casual of avoiding the Championship trapdoor this campaign. As other clubs curb their spend ascribable to the pandemic, Newcastle are tipped to move promptly and decisively in the market, and will surely gain an advantage over their relegation rivals by spending more than most this January. CBS Sports understands the club have budgeted $ 100 million on transfers and besides plan to offload at least three players in order to keep their squad size at the Premier League-mandated 25. Jeff Hendrick, Ciaran Clark and Dwight Gayle are all expected to depart. With this in mind, we take a look at who is top of Newcastle ‘s regard list and how probably they are to land their targets .
Most likely signing: Kieran Trippier
Newcastle are already in advanced talks with Atletico Madrid and England right-back Kieran Trippier. The 31-year-old won La Liga last season and is keen to move back to the Premier League. He besides knows Howe, as he was on lend at Burnley in 2011-12 when Howe was the director. Trippier made 28 appearances last season as Atletico Madrid won LaLiga. Getty Images Trippier has already been approached and a courtly offer is likely to be tabled in the inaugural week of January. The ex-Tottenham defender has a $ 35 million dismissal article and his arrival would be a real statement of purpose from Newcastle ‘s owners. Trippier ‘s form has dipped a small in 2021-22, and he ‘s been sidelined for five weeks with a shoulder injury, but he would distinctly bring quality, Premier League knowhow and fit neatly into Howe ‘s favored 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 system. newcastle face two challenges in getting the batch over the line : carry Trippier to join now with relegation looming and convincing Atleti to sell before the summer. Trippier will inevitably insert a relegation-release clause if he moves in January and that should be enough peace of heed to secure his signature this month. meanwhile Atleti are keeping close up taps on Leicester ‘s Ricardo Pereira and Lille ‘s Zeki Celik ( who they about signed in August ). The fact the spanish champions are seriously scouting Trippier replacements shows their willingness to sell him .
Most wanted signing: Sven Botman
Newcastle ‘s owners desperately want to sign Lille ‘s Sven Botman — and the adept news program for them is the talented 21-year-old is open to joining a Premier League clubhouse. Center backs are credibly the place Newcastle must strengthen in the most, while dutch talent Botman besides fits into a longer-term scheme. Howe is tasked with lowering the median long time of the side — which at 28.5 is the second-oldest in the Premier League behind lone Burnley ( 30.1 ) and adding players who can get Newcastle challenging for the peak six and beyond. This is a fantastic ( and slightly farcical ) finish to be thinking about now with the side sol at risk of Championship football next season, but ache recruitment constantly focuses on the future adenine well as the deliver. Plus, Botman is the type of musician born for a relegation crusade .
Botman has made over 50 appearances for Lille. Getty Images The early Jong Ajax defender, who won Ligue 1 final season, is a smart, technical and loves an forward pass duel. He tends to win them, excessively, averaging close to a 75 % success-rate since 19-20. milan are besides looking at Botman as a substitute for Simon Kjaer, but the $ 35 million tip Lille will demand could price them out the market. The fact Botman is under abridge until 2025 means he wo n’t come bum .
Most urgent target: Alfredo Morelos
newcastle have had to change their priorities and focus on finding a striker after forward Callum Wilson and winger Allan Saint-Maximin both suffered calf injuries in the spirit 1-1 draw with Manchester United on December 27. Saint-Maximin should be back for the all-important home game against fourth-bottom Watford on January 15, but Wilson faces a few months on the sidelines. It ‘s a huge blow considering he has scored six of Newcastle ‘s 19 Premier League goals to date. Callum Wilson scored the winner as Newcastle beat Burnley in their lone Premier League win this season. Getty Images The ideal accession is Rangers ‘ in-form colombian forward Alfredo Morelos. The 25-year-old has scored 107 goals since moving to Glasgow for a bargain fee of $ 1.35 million from HJK Helsinki in 2017. Morelos has 13 goals and four assists in all competitions in 2021-22 and looks far more settle under new director Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Steven Gerrard had a slenderly more fracture relationship with Morelos and it ‘s possibly telling that Aston Villa are not one of the clubs looking at him.
During his time at Ibrox, Gerrard admitted he did n’t know when Morelos was returning from a break after the Copa America and besides called him out for creating “ noise ” about a move aside. Along with Newcastle, Everton and Leicester are besides considering a $ 27 million swoop. And Howe, Rafa Benitez and Brendan Rodgers are three coaches well suited to managing what Morelos self-terms his “ bad personality. ”
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Morelos scored his 107th goal in December to become Rangers ‘ all-time oversea peak scorer. Getty Images In terms of other options, there is no substance to Newcastle ‘s links with Edin Dzeko. Inter entirely signed the bosnian international from Roma in August and the 35-year-old — who has eight Serie A goals to date this season — has no hope to leave the San Siro .
But one intrigue striker who is being scouted by Newcastle is Blackburn ‘s Chile international Ben Brereton Diaz. They ‘ll have to fend off firm interest from Leeds and Brighton — and other Premier League clubs may circle, besides, after Baggies boss Tony Mowbray conceded he wo n’t begrudge the 22-year-old a go away from Ewood Park this January. Brereton Diaz has 20 goals in 24 appearances in the Championship and it would be hard for Blackburn to turn down an offer in the region of $ 25 million even if it hampers their forwarding chances.
Low-hanging fruit: Joe Rodon
newcastle are probable to add some loanword signings, excessively, with out-of-favor Tottenham center binding Joe Rodon available. He has made fair one Premier League appearance to date this season. The 24-year-old is a ball-playing defender valued by Spurs at around $ 27 million. Sources told CBS Sports that Newcastle view the price chase as besides gamey, but would be unfold to a loan consider. Brighton are besides tracking Rodon and their predilection is for a permanent transfer in January. Rodon started Tottenham ‘s 2-2 Premier League puff at Newcastle last April. Getty Images Rodon featured 14 times across all competitions last season, but Antonio Conte seems to prefer fellowman Welshman Ben Davies. He would n’t be a flagship sign at St James ‘ Park — and some fans may question whether he ‘d get in the side ahead of fabian Schar or Jamaal Lascelles — but he ‘s tall, solid, deceptively quick, utilitarian in the air and comfortable in monomania with either foot.
Newcastle could do a fortune worse, and a loanword swoop would ultimately be a low-risk motivate to add short-run astuteness to a defense mechanism that ‘s leaked a worrying 42 Premier League goals in 2021-22. England Under-21 center back Lloyd Kelly — who was signed by Howe at Bournemouth — and Manchester City ‘s Nathan Ake, another Howe buy at Bournemouth, have besides been linked with Newcastle, but are less likely deals to come off in January. Kelly is in huge demand and sources at Championship leaders Bournemouth told CBS Sports the Cherries wo n’t sell unless they receive a big put up .
Long shot: Aaron Ramsey
Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey is looking for a move bet on to England. Juve are keen to get his $ 540,000-per-week wages off their books. now 31, Ramsey would n’t be a peculiarly long-run sign for Newcastle and would need to agree to a huge engage cut to make any transfer work — although this will be true of wherever he ends up following. Sources tell us there is no truth to reports Newcastle have already tabled a $ 200,000-per-week offer. But Ramsey ‘s agent, David Baldwin, has surely been working intemperate to line up a move for his client over the gay period. West Ham are another club seriously contemplating Ramsey, while FourFourTwo report that Arsenal are besides considering a arresting trade deal that would see recently-stripped captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heading to Turin with Ramsey returning to the North London.
Ramsey has scored just six goals in 70 games for Juventus — a reasonably tame come back compared to his impressive Arsenal numbers. His time at Juve has been hampered by injuries, but he ‘d have to find form and justify his wages reasonably promptly at a club like Newcastle or hazard clamant fan ( and potentially dress room ) recoil .
No deal: Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele wo n’t be joining Newcastle. The France external has demanded a $ 48 million per-year wage to extend his stay at Barcelona — a figure the debt-ridden Catalan club both ca n’t afford and are simply unwilling to pay.
The 24-year-old ‘s contract expires on June 30, thus if Barca want a fee they ‘ll need to sell Dembele in January or lose him on a detached transportation. According to CBS Sports insider Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle made contact in early December and were not scared off by his engage demands .
But CBS Sports besides understands Dembele is against a substitution predominantly because of Newcastle ‘s current league position and the probably miss of european soccer next season.
Manchester United are besides pursuing Dembele, but his desire to play in the 2022-23 Champions League could potentially scupper a transfer to Old Trafford, excessively, flush though Ralf Rangnick ‘s side ended the class merely four points off fourth-placed Arsenal with a plot in hand. Dembele has only played five LaLiga games this temper. Getty Images If Newcastle do any occupation with Barca it ‘s more likely to be for center back Samuel Umtiti, who is available for around $ 23 million. The 28-year-old was an integral region of the France team that won the 2018 World Cup, scoring the winner in the semi-final victory over Belgium. The early Lyon defender would surely add quality, but there are concerns over how injury-prone his time at the Camp Nou has been .
Panic buy: Gareth Bale
Newcastle will pretty a lot be linked with every ace under the sun, particularly if their form improves in 2022. Agents will inevitably fuel transfer spill in club to drive up prices with equal suitors.
More often than not, there wo n’t be much means to this particular type of rumor. tied now, far-fetched names like Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland are being flippantly banded about by the fanbase as ‘dream ‘ targets that could lone ever be pursued in far more successful and static times. Hearing these soccer ‘A-listers ‘ being mentioned in the same hint as Newcastle credibly irks or amuses the new owners, and Gareth Bale may well fall into that category. real Madrid are expected to transfer list the 32-year-old in January, though. spanish mercantile establishment Sport claimed in October that Bale was a Newcastle target, but CBS Sports has been told the Welsh international is of no interest to the Magpies. Gareth Bale ‘s only LaLiga finish this season came at Levante in August in a 3-3 string. Getty Images
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yet, much like the search for a new coach to replace Steve Bruce, there are some differences of opinion between Steve Nickson, the cabaret ‘s question of recruitment, British-based owners Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben, and Saudi Arabian president Yasir Al-Rumayyan. This is natural, and a by-product of having multiple senior voices running a soccer golf club. consider, and at times discrepancy, can be very healthy. But what ‘s clear is the non-PIF voices at the club are far more focus on the soccer, with PIF identical much looking out for the mark.
Al-Rumuyyan is intent on landing a marquee sign to help grow the latter and is known to be an admirer of both Bale and Philippe Coutinho. But there seems to be consensus that this window is not necessarily the correct time to recruit a ‘luxury ‘ player. Should the Magpies fail to get some of their primary coil targets early in the month, it will be interesting to see if any ‘panic ‘ sets in and names previously dismissed, like Bale, suddenly seem more appeal. ultimately, Newcastle need signings adequate to of keeping them in the Premier League first and foremost, so despite being casually tied to a server of scheme and headliner names, they must be realistic and calculating with who they actually sign. Finding additions who are both the right fit and value is key, while fending off contest wo n’t quite be adenine easy as writing elephantine checks. The January windowpane will no doubt be an excite glimpse of the new owners ‘ ambitious plans, but transfers will hush take seat against the backdrop of both Newcastle ‘s parlous league position and the current fiscal climate. That means reasonable signings not seismic spend should be the target .