Defenders
The issue It’s safe to say that goalkeeper Martin Dubravka is not the real cause for concern here. Newcastle United will always look a safer prospect at the back when the Slovakian international is between the posts, rather than his error-prone English understudy Karl Darlow. That notwithstanding, Newcastle are shipping more than two goals a game — the total now 34 in 16 after Sunday’s 4-0 defeat away to Leicester City. It is the worst record in the top flight and one which is unsustainable for any side with serious intentions of remaining there.
The wish-list There are question-marks hanging over just about all of Newcastle’s defensive personnel given their collective limitations so far this season, so talk of potential replacements has cast the net far and wide. Burnley central-defensive partnership James Tarkowski and Ben Mee remain on the radar, as does the Wolverhampton Wanderers skipper Conor Coady.
The reality Even though the Turf Moor duo are out of contract in the summer, it would take an eye-watering offer for Burnley and Sean Dyche to allow either of their key defenders — with Mee also the club captain — to join a relegation rival for the second half of the season. Like many potential targets, it would also require some serious persuasion, financially or otherwise, for Coady to quit Molineux for an uncertain immediate future on Tyneside.
Midfielders
The issue A general lack of mobility in their midfield has resulted in Newcastle regularly being over-run by more energetic opponents in the middle of the park, starving them of possession and placing added pressure on a back line which clearly can’t be trusted to repel the danger on a regular basis.
The wish-list Despite Arthur Melo being surplus to requirements at Juventus it would still take in excess of £50 million to persuade the Italian club to part company with the Brazilian midfielder. Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek is another who wouldn’t come cheap, even for the largely bottomless pockets of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Advertisement
The reality It’s not so much selling the dream to would-be new recruits. It’s more a case of deftly down-playing the imminent nightmare of relegation and getting them to look beyond the short-term pain of, at best, a year’s slog in the Championship, for the long-term gain of being remembered as a player who helped to resurrect the club to distant former glories.
Forwards
The issue In Callum Wilson, Newcastle possess one of the Premier League’s most potent attacking threats — when he’s available. The 29-year-old’s goalscoring record is rather more impressive than his fitness record, having started 31 of 47 league games since joining from Bournemouth last year.
The wish-list Newcastle face plenty of competition for Jesse Lingard should the forward sever his links with Old Trafford next month. Stoke prospect Tyrese Campbell is a player manager Eddie Howe has admired since his time at Bournemouth.
The reality Investing upwards of £20 million on Campbell in the hope he will provide the goals to stave off relegation would be a big ask for a proven Premier League goalscorer, let alone one who has yet to play above Sky Bet Championship level, however there is clearly a lot of potential in the 21-year-old son of the former Arsenal striker Kevin. The same applies to Ben Brereton Díaz, who has scored 17 league goals for Blackburn Rovers and who has been given the green light to step up to the top flight next month. In the likes of Dwight Gayle, Newcastle already have enough Championship-standard forwards on their books.
