Less than two weeks remain of the transfer window, and chaos reigns at Newcastle United.
It’s been a long, hard summer for Newcastle United, in which all the dreams of pushing on and building upon last year’s trophy triumph have been dashed.
Eddie Howe has hardly had time to even leave the drawing board, so he can return to it as the club have missed out on one top target after another, while the Alexander Isak saga has drained everyone.
The dawn of the new Premier League season brought a renewed sense of optimism and defiance, though, especially after Newcastle finally made some good signings in Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey.
A promising performance in the opening draw with Aston Villa also lifted spirits but the reality remains that Newcastle are weaker without their star striker and the situation is no closer to being resolved.
The Magpies have been chasing a new striker all summer to replace Callum Wilson, but now Isak’s refusal to play means they are perilously short on options to lead the line.
Will Osula is not good enough and Anthony Gordon struggles in the role. That’s it.
A new striker is desperately needed but the search seems to be going nowhere.
- Who is Yoane Wissa? Newcastle United’s £55m Alexander Isak replacement
Newcastle United’s Yoane Wissa chase stalls
The Isak palaver took a new, explosive step on Tuesday night as the striker released an official statement in which he complained about broken promises and lost trust.
Newcastle reacted diplomatically in their statement, making it clear Isak would not be sold and he will be welcomed back into the fold when he is ready.
If that day will ever come remains to be seen but the Magpies would need reinforcements up front even if their star striker wasn’t AWOL,
It looked as though the club had finally struck a breakthrough with Brentford to sign Yoane Wissa, with a £35m transfer fee seemingly settled upon.
That was 12 days ago and the move has stalled. Brentford don’t want to sell Wissa and are in a similar situation as Newcastle with Isak, as the striker is refusing to play and has removed any mention of the club from his Instagram account.
Newcastle made a third bid of £35m plus £5m in add-ons on Wednesday but that too has been rejected.
Time is running out before deadline day and Newcastle may soon have to move on to an alternative for the umpteenth time.
The options are dwindling but one intriguing name has yet to come up. It would be a wildcard. It’s a name Newcastle know very well.
It’s Ivan Toney.
Newcastle United should make an unlikely move for Ivan Toney
The Ivan Toney who spent three years at Newcastle between 2015-2018 is very different to the one today.
He barely got a sniff at St. James’ Park and was sent out on loan six times but he didn’t let that failure keep him down. After dropping to League One with Peterborough United, Toney fought his way back up to the Premier League to become an England international.
The frontman scored 72 goals in 141 games for Brentford, as well as picking up 23 assists. 36 of his goals came in the Premier League.
Just when it seemed he was on the cusp of a big move, Toney left English shores to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli last summer.
Heading to Saudi Arabia is typically the end of a player’s career at the top level of the game. There are not many who come back from the retirement home, with Jordan Henderson the notable exception.
But Toney is still just 29 and his fine form has continued in the Saudi Pro League. He has scored 30 times in 44 games for his new club, a very good record regardless of the competition.
Toney is a clinical finisher and can really lead a line, moving into channels for through balls or being a target to hold the ball up. He would suit Newcastle pretty well.
The fact that Newcastle owners PIF also control Al-Ahli would certainly help a move happen, too.
Toney is obviously nowhere near the level of Isak but he’s better than Wilson and certainly isn’t any worse than the likes of Wissa, Nicolas Jackson and Jorgen Strand Larsen, who would cost significantly more as clubs know how desperate Newcastle are as deadline day draws near.
It would only be a short-term solution, but Toney could be the outside-of-the-box striker signing that salvages Newcastle’s window, if only just.
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