Some Suggestions For Newcastle United

Arthur Viana, 20th October 2021

Newcastle United is the newest rich club around. More precisely, they’re now the richest club in the world, with new owners coming from Saudi Arabia, who reportedly have around 14 times the amount of money of Sheikh Mansour, the famous owner of Manchester City. The project is big, but there’s something very different about Newcastle in comparison to when Manchester City or Chelsea were bought out by big investors, and that is their current situation. Man City were a midtable club, and Chelsea were already making appearances in the top 6. Newcastle, on the other hand, haven’t had a good season in the Premier League since the early 2000’s, have been relegated twice in the last 15 years, and fight against relegation almost every season. This season is no different, they’re currently sitting at 19th, with only 3 points out of 8 games, and those points came from three draws, so no wins for them. Steve Bruce just got sacked and they have to find a new manager soon, or they will get relegated again and the fans might have to wait a little longer for the project to work out.

?But what if they survive? Can one more season in the Premier League attract some good players for them? Honestly, I think it can. Of course, they won’t sign some of the best players in the world, but maybe some known names that haven’t been looked at recently, or some promising players from all over Europe and South America. Today, I will list one name for each position that I think would be a nice and realistic signing for Newcastle. Just to make things clear, I’m not saying that they’ll sign a new starting XI in one transfer window, these are just names that I think would be a good addition to their team.

Before the list starts, here are some names I thought about, but ended up here in the “honorable mentions”:

·????????Niklas Süle (Bayern Munich)

·????????Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City)

·????????Fede Valverde (Real Madrid)

·????????Jorge Carrascal (River Plate)

·????????Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid)

·????????Julián álvarez (River Plate)

·????????Edinson Cavani (Manchester United)

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Goalkeeper - Nick Pope (Burnley)

Nick Pope is a very underrated goalkeeper, in my opinion. I think he’s been with Burnley for too long, a team that I just can’t get excited about. Yes, Pope is already 29 years old, and I suppose you can say that Martin Dubravka is a good keeper, but we’ve all seen Pope at his best and maybe in a team with more ambition he can be even better.

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Centre-Back - Presnel Kimpembe (PSG)

From one money giant to another. A more ambitious signing, Kimpembe is another player I think is very underrated, he’s been with the French National Team for a while and he’s still only 26, so he should have at least 6 more years to evolve and play at a high level. He’s starting for PSG every week now, but what will happen to him when Sergio Ramos comes back from his injury? I don’t think PSG sees him as a big priority, so I believe it’s definitely possible.

Right-Back - Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax)

More clubs should keep an eye on this guy. Playing in the Ajax and Morocco first teams since 2018, Mazraoui is a very interesting RB. He has a lot of quality with the ball on his feet, and knows how to attack, as he’s got 4 goals and 2 assists in 9 Eredivisie games this season. This might be a hard one, since Ajax are doing so well in the Champions League and Mazraoui has played every single game for them this season, but the desire of competing in a higher level might make it work.

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Left-Back - Alex Telles (Manchester United)

When Alex Telles signed for Man United, I got very excited. Finally, he would show his football in a big league and convince everyone that he’s actually pretty amazing. What a letdown. He suffered a lot with injuries, and not only that, but he saw his competition, Luke Shaw, turn into - arguably - the best LB England has today. Even if it’s a loan, Alex Telles to Newcastle could be his second chance in English football, and a move that I, personally, would love to see.

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Central Midfielder - Bruno Guimar?es (Lyon)

You might think I’m being biased because I’m Brazilian but hear me out. Bruno Guimar?es is one of the most impressive players I’ve seen in quite a long time. He’s very good at defending, knows how and when to attack, and has impressively high passing skills. He’s the kind of player that if I had on my team, I’d be in heaven. Bruno is very complete, and still young (23 as I’m writing). He must show his football to the world.

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Attacking Midfielder - Mario G?tze (PSV)

I bet you haven’t heard that name in a while. Well, Mario G?tze has been playing with PSV in the Eredivisie for a year now, and he’s moving his career forward after a crisis at Borussia Dortmund. This season, PSV played 6 games in the Champions League Qualifying Rounds, where G?tze got 1 goal and 3 assists. ??They went to the Europa League, where he’s got 3 assists and a goal in 2 games. I don’t believe that G?tze will ever be that same brilliant player we saw between 2013 and 2016, but he is improving again, and we know he can show true quality. A second chance might be all he needs.

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Left Winger/Left Midfielder - Robin Gosens (Atalanta)

Gosens is yet another player on this list that I find massively underrated. Atalanta is a great team today and Robin Gosens is definitely one of the reasons. He got famous for playing as a Left-Back, however, he can also play as a midfielder, as he’s been doing lately since Atalanta plays with a back line of 3 centre-backs. He’s shown very good quality attacking and although Newcastle already have Allan Saint-Maximin, who I think is by far the best player on the current Newcastle squad, Gosens can be an alternative for when they need more safeness instead of fast dribbles.

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Right-Winger/Right Midfielder - Isma?la Sarr (Watford)

I can’t be the only one that sees talent in this guy. Sarr is one of those players that you just can’t understand the reason why they’re not on an actual good team. When Watford got relegated in the 2019/20 season, I was so sure that someone would rescue him from the Championship, but he stayed and showed good football with 13 goals and 10 assists in the League as Watford finished 2nd. He already scored 4 goals in 8 Premier League matches this season, and he still has only 23 years of age. Please, Newcastle, give this man some good competition!

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Centre-Forward - Ben Brereton (Blackburn Rovers)

?This one’s probably a weird one. Why would a club aiming for European competition sign a Championship player? Well, Brereton is a player that I, as Brazilian, had some closer contact with, since he declared for the Chilean National Team and played not only the Copa America, but also in the 2022 World Cup Qualifying games. He has 3 goals in 8 appearances for Chile. But his performance at Blackburn is also impressive. He’s currently got 10 goals and 1 assist in 13 League games and can also play as a winger. Almost forgot to mention that he’s only 22 years old and has a lot of time to become a more complete and deadly attacker. Nevertheless, he’s probably better than Joelinton.

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