Premier League outfit Newcastle United carved a productive summer transfer window for themselves. Under the tutelage of Rafael Benitez, the Geordies carved an immediate return back to the English top flight and have further bolstered their chances of staying inside the rendezvous zone at the end of this season with the recruitments they successfully manoeuvred.
Benitez has roped some quality names in the form of Joselu, Christian Atsu, Jacob Murphy and Florian Lejeune to St. James’ Park over the course of the summer transfer window. However, one of the prospective deals which failed to cross the line was that involving Fulham’s sensation Tom Cairney. Cairney was a revelation last season and impressed with the Cottagers week in and week out.
His stellar outings made him carve a name for himself in the good books of the football fraternity and the Toon emerged as one of the frontrunners to make him sign on the dotted line. The Scot smashed 12 goals, registered 10 assists and created as many as 115 chances last term in the Championship in 44 appearances (excluding the playoffs, wherein he scored 1 goal in 2 outings) he was handed and also cultivated a staggering average pass completion rate of 92%.
Benitez was desperate to rope him into his ranks and considering that the deal failed to come to a conclusion, the former Napoli boss is seemingly likely to see it as an opportunity lost. Besides, it is now implied that without the entry of a fantastic playmaker, Ayoze Perez would find himself under a lot of pressure this season as there was indeed a lack of creativity at the top of the midfield for Newcastle United last season.
Cairney is a player of fine calibre who can ply his trade as a central midfielder as well as a central attacking midfielder. He knits the game meticulously with his crisp and accurate passes, reads the game exceptionally well and possesses an undeniable knack to score goals. Perez and Mohamed Diame have been inconsistent time and again and thus, Cairney could have been a welcome addition.
The 26-year-old has proved himself in the English second division and it was about time for him to play in the Premier League. He could have really blossomed in the tactical nous of the Magpies as he would have had the license to drop deep and create chances and then get forward and thus, Benitez is seemingly likely to regret upon the failed transfer deal of Cairney.
Statistics Credits: Squawka
