Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has shared what he thinks Newcastle United will be doing ahead of today’s transfer deadline.
There’s been a lot of talk regarding potential incomings and outgoings for Newcastle and yet there’s been very little action in this January window, much to the disappointment of supporters.
Speaking on Sky Sports live from St James’ Park, Downie claimed that he’d be ‘very surprised’ if anyone was to come into or out of Newcastle today and that the club had pretty much accepted that they will have to finish the season with this current squad.
Newcastle’s January transfer frustrations continue
Newcastle are absolutely desperate to bring in at least one new player to help out with their injury crisis and give them a bit of a boost heading into the second half of the season.
With half of their midfielders either suspended or injured and Bruno Guimaraes one booking away from a two-game ban, Newcastle could soon find themselves in a very tricky position.
However, the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules has restricted what Newcastle can spend and it now looks like they will not be able to bring in anybody in today’s transfer deadline.
On Sky Sports, Downie said: “I think Newcastle have been looking for potential loan deals all January long but they are finding it very difficult.
“I feel like a broken record here but that’s because Newcastle are pretty much stuck in regards to PSR and they need to sell someone or send someone out on loan with an obligation to be able to bring someone in themselves.
“They are at a stage right now where without doubt in the background they are trying to do something. They would love to do something. They are so short in that midfield department, just three of the six midfielders they have to pick from are fit at the moment. They are relying a lot on 17 year old Lewis Miley.
“I think without doubt they would love to bring a midfielder in today and behind the scenes they will be moving things around to see what they can do but I would be very surprised if they manage to bring someone in because it’s so late in the transfer window that they are not really going to get value there and it feels like they would have to lose someone.
“The word creative is being used a lot to me. I think they are trying to be creative in the background. I would never say never but I just think it’s increasingly unlikely that Newcastle will bring someone in today, unless at the very last minute an offer comes in for a player they can’t refuse.
I have to say I don’t expect it to be busy and that’s not what you wanted to hear.”
Newcastle’s focus must now be on the summer
January has almost been a complete write off and it’s not what Newcastle supporters will have been hoping for, but the only positive is that the summer window simply cannot be as frustrating as this.
With Champions League money and commercial deals like the one with Adidas set to kick in next season, the hope is that the budget will dramatically increase and there will be more room to manoeuvre in the next window.
No doubt Newcastle’s recruits will already have a whole list of targets who they will be wanting to bring in to push them onto the next level, but for Eddie Howe it’s now about the players he currently has available and how much he can get out of them in the next few months.
Getting European football could be a huge boost in terms of the quality of players they can attract but it’s a tough ask for a team who have been plagued with injuries and are still suffering from a lack of players.
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