Newcastle United, having clinched promotion to the top tier after spending one season in the Championship, are looking to strengthen their team for the next season in order to take on the big name clubs of the Premier League. It goes without saying that their wily manager Rafa Benitez, who has experience of managing clubs like Liverpool, Napoli and Real Madrid, is on the lookout for players to make their next campaign a pretty successful one for them.
The Magpies have been able to secure three players’ signatures so far for the next season in the form of French centre-back Florian Lejeune from Spanish La Liga club Eibar, and young defenders Stefan O’Connor and Josef Yarney from fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Everton.
Rafa Benitez is well aware of the fact that they will need some marquee signings to light up their line-up for the next season. They need players who have good enough experience to play in European top-flight football and are currently in the hunt to land the Dutch striker Bas Dost for the next season.
The giant forward is currently playing for the Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon in the Primeira Liga and is known for his physical presence on the pitch, making it difficult for the opposition defenders to mark him when he is in possession of the ball. He uses his towering presence to full advantage and has been scoring goals regularly for his current club, attracting a lot of interest from a number of clubs from all over Europe, including the Premier League.
The Magpies have been wary of their striking power, with no striker in their squad who has proven his worth at the highest level and can be considered as a real threat against the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and defending champions Chelsea. So it is quite obvious that Newcastle United is looking forward to bring in someone like Dost to strengthen their arsenal for the next season.
The Dutchman is one of the most highly regarded strikers in the current scenario and is presently in gallant form. He played 41 matches so far for Sporting Lisbon and has netted 36 times already.
Reportedly, the Magpies have already offered the Portuguese outfit a whopping £35 million for their star striker, but Sporting have made it very clear that they will not be letting go off their prized possession for anything under £52 million as the release clause. So should Newcastle make an improved bid?
