Newcastle were late guests to the Premier League’s summer spending party, but when they became active, they brought in a number of players at both senior and youth level.
There are 14 weeks between now and the opening of the January transfer window, with the Chronicle reporting that Newcastle boss Steve Bruce has held a “scouting summit” with his recruitment team.
It is claimed, and Bruce has confirmed, that the club hope to be active, but will not be looking to make wholesale changes to the squad, but wanting to add “quality” to improve the current group.
However, the games between now and January are vital to Bruce and Newcastle’s transfer plans, particularly if he hopes to attract the added quality he referred to.
There is a huge difference between signing quality players from a position of strength, or bringing in players in desperation from a position of weakness.
Newcastle’s transfer plans will depend on Premier League position
The quality players he is hoping for will not want to join a side that looks like a relegation candidate before they arrive.
He must ensure Newcastle find a way to pull themselves away from the bottom three, and their current flirtation with relegation.
Only then will he find himself in a position to tell the players he is interested in of his vision for Newcastle going forward.
He cannot do that if he cannot even be certain of which division they will be plying their trade in.
Bruce described Newcastle’s game with Brighton as a “cup final” during the build-up to it. Well I would suggest that all his future plans rely on the on-field success between now and January, meaning every game in the interim period will be ‘cup finals’.
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