If pressed to compile a list of the players who Newcastle United should sign this summer to take them forward while also propelling bums off St James’ Park seats with excitement, the search wouldn’t stray too far from these shores.
In order of preference, I’d trigger Eberechi Eze’s £68m Crystal Palace release clause to bring one of the Premier League’s most watchable forwards to Tyneside. A quick stop off in west London to sign Bryan Mbeumo – a lethal talent who would surely add a different dimension as a right-sided forward – would be followed by a detour south for Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, a Rolls-Royce defender who has all the attributes to pick up the baton from Newcastle’s current crop of reliable centre-backs.
And then – bear with me on this flight of fancy – I’d be tempted to wait until the last days of August to tempt Manchester City with a loan offer for Jack Grealish, teeing him up for the mother of all rehabilitations under Eddie Howe.
It is, of course, all conjecture. Director of football Paul Mitchell won’t be worried just yet. Because while they like all three of the players mentioned – Mbeumo and Zabarnyi have featured prominently in recruitment meetings – Newcastle know as well as anyone that domestic targets come freighted with a Premier League premium.
And that’s before you get into the thorny issue of how difficult it is to prise players with plenty of options out of the hands of clubs already at an elite level.
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It is an indictment of how the last 12 months have gone for Grealish that of all the players mentioned, he’d probably be the easiest one to sign right now. Indeed, if Newcastle were prepared to cough up the cash and meet his wage demands, City would probably charter a private jet for him tomorrow.
That would have been barely believable a few years ago when Grealish appeared to have finally cracked the code. Beloved in the white of England he’d also mastered the discipline required to be an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s sky-blue masterplan.
I spoke to him at Old Trafford in the summer of 2023 after he’d just won the Treble with City. Grealish had made a decent cameo in a 7-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over North Macedonia, brushing off the mother of all hangovers after winning the Champions League with City. He spoke so well about ensuring there would be no drop off from here – but despite the best of intentions the descent has been dizzying in the last year.
Whether Guardiola grew tired of Grealish’s maverick ways or the player fell victim to the City manager’s groping for a tactical masterplan, he surely has to leave the Etihad this summer. The problem is that Premier League recruitment executives no longer put 29-year-olds at the top of their transfer wishlists, especially not ones raking in £300,000-a-week. There will be interest but suitors won’t exactly be queuing up to offer him a chance unless someone (probably City) is prepared to take a sizeable financial hit.
And yet I’ve warmed to the idea of him at Newcastle or somewhere he’d feel the love again. Howe, like Guardiola, is a systems man but there’s more flexibility about the Newcastle boss and his approach. And boy, does he love a player who can run directly at defences, drawing fouls or encouraging rapid transitions.
At the moment, Newcastle don’t have too many worries on the left. Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes are vying for that position but, as The i Paper reported this week, this is a summer where there might be one or two recruitment surprises. Profitability and sustainability positions have improved but PSR remains a consideration long-term. So if Gordon or Barnes get offers, Newcastle might have to listen.
Grealish might not be anyone’s idea of a shiny new signing these days. But he can still get pulses racing under the right manager.
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