Newcastle’s time for haggling over saving a million pound here and there in their pursuit of Allan Saint-Maximin must end, and in light of recent events in Edinburgh, they must simply pay and get their man.
Matt Ritchie was forced off with an injury early in the 3-1 win against Hibernian on Tuesday, in what could be a huge blow for the squad.
Alarm bells were ringing over the seriousness of the issue, as Ritchie stopped, held his hand up immediately and went straight down the tunnel.
Steve Bruce confirmed to the Chronicle after the game that it was a hamstring injury, but the extent of how bad it is will not be known until he has a scan in the next two days.
The wing positions desperately needed strengthening before Ritchie’s injury
It is a position where we were already light on numbers – hence the bid for Saint-Maximin – and if Ritchie’s injury is a bad one, it leaves us in a desperate position.
It is why Lee Charnley must act immediately. He must forget his penny-pinching antics. He must simply sign the French winger at all costs.
Whatever he thinks he is paying – whether over the odds or not – will be a drop in the ocean compared to how much the club will lose if they do not bring a winger in, and end up going down because of lack of playing personnel.
Saint-Maximin started, and scored, in Nice’s heavy defeat at Burnley on the same night as Newcastle were in Edinburgh.
If that was a wake up call to Newcastle that they could miss out on their man if they do not strike a deal that suits the Ligue 1 side, then they should take heed.
Act now, and worry about savings later. To do nothing could end up in total disaster by time May comes around.
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