Newcastle need to keep focusing on their current squad and forget about January transfer targets if they want to stay in the Premier League.
The past week has seen a series of strikers linked with the club as Newcastle continue to struggle with misfiring forwards.
The likes of Troy Deeney and Sebastien Haller were both reported by The Northern Echo as being targeted by Newcastle.
And these are just two of many in the last few days.
But with only 10 games until the window actually opens, Newcastle still have a lot of catching up to do.
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Because if they don’t start picking up results, they’ll find January business very hard to come by. With only three points on the table, they must ensure they’re not already cut adrift by Christmas.
Newcastle aren’t likely to attract many top players into a fierce relegation battle anyway. But if the team are essentially down by that point, they’ll be strengthening for the Championship, not survival.
And with little financial incentive to entice top players, Newcastle only really have Rafa Benitez and their history as a drawing point.
Not only has a lot of recent transfer talk been unrealistic, but it has also been damaging to the current squad’s mentality. It would be a worrying sign if the team had already decided that only new players can save them.
Rafa must give his team confidence, and remind them that more or less the same squad finished 10th last season.
Ultimately, it’s always a tough transfer window at Newcastle. But if Benitez cant improve results, it will be his toughest ever.
Benitez on strengthening in January
Benitez has in fact banned transfer talk in the dressing room to encourage players to focus.
Speaking to The Chronicle, Benitez said: “We are working and our scouts are out looking for players and targets.
“But we have to concentrate on the next 10 games. We can’t waste time talking about January when there are games to play.
“Even if we do well between now and the end of December, January could change again. Or if we don’t do well things may change anyway.
“We have to concentrate on what we can change now.”
