Chris Waugh explains what Newcastle are currently doing in the transfer market

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Newcastle United are at a pivotal point of their summer transfer plans.

The club have already made five signings, three of which are for the first-team. Matt Targett has returned, while Nick Pope and Sven Botman have also joined the Toon revolution.

Eddie Howe will have new faces at the training ground, with the international players due to return for pre-season ahead of Saturday’s first friendly against Gateshead.

While there has been frustration surrounding some targets and moving current players out of St James’ Park, news on incomings have been positive.

Newcastle have made smart signings, all of which improve the squad. The new owners have now bought an entire new backline, fixing a huge problem that was plaguing the Magpies.

But while we’re no longer leaking goals, we also need to start scoring more.

Newcastle ‘pause’ transfer plans as they decide who to sign next

On the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne, the Athletic’s Chris Waugh discussed what Newcastle are doing right now in terms of signings.

“They still want a right-sided forward, they want a centre-forward,” he said.

“They’re basically having a little bit of a pause to think how can we maximise the remaining part of the budget we have left to make sure we add enough goals to the team. That’s been the priority and remains the priority.

“They’ve signed three defensive players so far, all players Howe wanted, all strengthen the squad. But Newcastle need goals and that’s very much what they’re looking for now.”

Two more signings are vital

Going into the summer, most fans would have said that attacking reinforcements is the priority. However, we are less than five weeks away from the new season starting and we’re yet to sign a forward.

The need for a striker possibly isn’t as desperate as it previously was. When Callum Wilson was out injured and Chris Wood was struggling to score goals, it was clear we needed an alternative.

Then Wilson returned and looked on fire, perhaps pushing the striker chase down the pecking order. We still need another goalscorer, but it will be a backup for Wilson rather than a replacement.

Sadly, targets have proven to be too expensive or difficult to land. Darwin Nunez was unattainable, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ivan Toney remain too expensive. Then you’ve got Hugo Ekitike, whose transfer saga became farcicle.

Newcastle are now looking elsewhere, with Armando Broja linked on loan.

Dan Ashworth also needs to sign a right winger, and he will likely be someone who walks straight into Howe’s starting XI. Moussa Diaby would definitely do that, but he is going to cost a lot of money.

That’s why Newcastle are taking a moment to assess their options. The club don’t have a bottomless pit of money and need to be careful with how they spend to get the most out of the budget.

A loan deal for someone like Broja would be great. It would end our striker pursuit and free up more funds to spend on someone like Diaby.

That’s where Newcastle are right now. They need to sign at least two more players, but might have to be savvy to get an attacking duo of the calibre they crave.