As we enter the final few days of another January transfer window hampered by PSR, Newcastle’s recruitment team may already be looking at a number of players to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad this summer and beyond.
With Alexander Isak being constantly linked with a move away to Arsenal in spite of his hefty price tag, the club may have some form of contingency plan in place should the Swede be sold by next season.
Either that or some incredibly ambitious options have been lined up to replace Callum Wilson this summer…
Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Jonathan David have all been ‘discussed internally’ at Newcastle as potential transfer targets.
In a report from The Mail’s Simon Jones, it’s claimed the trio from Wolves, RB Leipzig and Lille respectively are all highly-regarded on Tyneside and in North London.
Jones writes “Both Arsenal and Newcastle have discussed internally the merits of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Lille’s Jonathan David.”
Though many feel the chance of a trophy and Champions League football should push us to strengthen over the next week, it seems increasingly likely that we keep our powder dry until the summer.
Cunha, one of the standout players in the Premier League this season, has admirers at Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. With Wolves a likely candidate to drop down to the Championship this campaign, it would be a big coup if the Magpies could convince Cunha to make the move from the Midlands.
Sesko has fast become one of Europe’s top prospects, and similar to Isak, has enjoyed constant links to North London and a potential move to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
This isn’t the first time that Jonathan David has been touted as a target, with the Ligue 1 star enjoying another brilliant season which he’s widely expected to end as a free agent upon the expiry of his contract at Lille.
Newcastle’s activity in both the current window and future windows appears to hinge on three key factors: outgoing players, financial restrictions and appeal of the Newcastle project.
Though the club has insisted Alexander Isak is not for sale and is aiming to tie the former Sociedad striker to a new deal in the summer, we don’t know how this summer will pan out if a truly colossal bid arrives and we fail to qualify for the Champions League.
And then there’s Newcastle competing with the rest of the ‘Big Six’ and European giants: a recent report from The Athletic hinted that each of Manchester City’s recent defensive signings – Khusanov, Reis and Bah – were all high on Newcastle’s transfer wish list but unable to be pursued this month for PSR reasons.
Hopefully, with the prospect of Champions League football returning to St James’ Park next season, Howe, Mitchell and co. can avoid a repeat of the 23/24 campaign and address the squad depth issues (particularly in attack) and make up for a few quiet transfer windows with a big summer.
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