Newcastle United carved a return for themselves to the 2016-17 campaign of the Premier League, thanks to their stupendous run of form in the Championship last season. The Magpies were absolutely shrewd and bang on target in chiselling out the desired outputs under the tutelage of Rafael Benitez and it was quite riveting to see them operating with their heads held high.
Moreover, they earned the uplift in the grandest of manners, as they clinched the English second division silverware and impliedly, received an automatic qualification spot. This season, they did start in a disappointing manner, having lost their first two league outings which were against Tottenham Hotspur and Huddersfield Town.
However, the Toon have come back strongly of late and have clinched three league wins on the trot after their outings against West Ham United, Swansea City and Stoke City. They have collected 9 points so far and are placed at the 5th spot in the league table after 5 games.
Benitez made some stupendous signings during the summer transfer window, for he managed to lure some world-class names such as Javier Manquillo, Florian Lejeune and Joselu to St. James’ Park.
However, a lot more was expected from the former Napoli boss and one of the players he failed to rope into his arsenal was Galatasaray’s winger Garry Rodrigues, as a bid of £6million from Newcastle United was rejected by the Turkish giants.
It seems like Benitez is keen to make a move for him in the January transfer window as per one of the latest reports. Rodrigues has been in a fine nick in the Turkish Super Lig this season, having bagged 3 assists in 5 league games for the Lions. The Magpies have been sending their scouts regularly to pen down the development of the 26-year-old winger and have been receiving very positive reviews about the player.
Signed from PAOK FC for around £3million last summer, he has been one of the finest players for Galatasaray so far this season, with the club being placed at the top of the league table after winning 4 of their last 5 games.
Newcastle United would need to enhance their armoury midway into the season to avoid any blunder during the business end and thus, their interest to sign Rodrigues makes complete sense, although it would be hard to prise him out of Igor Tudor’s ranks.
