Newcastle United brought in five players in January, but failed to land Jesse Lingard from Manchester United.
The Magpies chased the attacking midfielder, hoping to land him on loan.
Supposedly the club offered a loan fee, and a survival bonus to the player.
But ultimately, the Red Devils blocked Lingard from departing. The player was said to be ‘gutted’.
Other transfer windows remain open, but it’s likely he’ll now stay at Old Trafford until the end of the season, which is when his contract expires.
It remains to be seen if Newcastle will be stung by not signing Lingard. He probably would have made for a great addition.
Here are three Newcastle players who could find themselves under pressure following the club’s failure to land the 29-year-old:
Joe Willock
Since his £25 million summer transfer from Arsenal (Sky Sports), Willock has struggled at St. James’ Park.
No one expected him to replicate the goalscoring form he showed whilst on loan with the club last season.
But many feel underwhelmed with what Willock has shown for Newcastle this season.
He is yet to score or assist, which is a really disappointing return.
Newcastle not signing Lingard is probably good news for Willock in that he should still get chances to turn his form around.
He’s under a bit of pressure now though, and needs to show Newcastle are in safe hands after missing out on Lingard.
Miguel Almiron
Once Newcastle’s record signing, Miguel Almiron needs to step up.
The attacking midfielder has great work-rate, but like Willock he has no goals or assists in 2021/22.
The Paraguay international doesn’t always start and has yet to play 90 minutes under Eddie Howe.
But as an attacking midfielder, he will surely now be under pressure to deliver following the club’s failure to land Lingard.
Almiron is actually quite similar to Lingard. He is tenacious and can also create. Really, if he was performing to his best level consistently, there would perhaps have been no need for Newcastle to ever target Lingard.
Chris Wood
Lingard would potentially have forged a great partnership with Wood at St. James’ Park.
The England international loves to get into that final third and work off a central striker, like he did at West Ham with Michail Antonio.
It is likely Wood would have really benefitted from having a creative and industrious player like Lingard playing on his shoulder.
With Newcastle failing to land Lingard, the New Zealand international was the club’s only attacking signing of the January window.
Naturally, that will put pressure on him to deliver. That £25 million price tag could also weigh quite heavy. Hopefully he can forge a good partnership with Willock or Almiron instead.
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