Newcastle United’s return to the top flight of English football has not gone according to plan. The Magpies endured a mixed start to their campaign in England’s top league. After a quick few weeks in the initial stages of the season where the club performed well, Newcastle United flopped and their loss in form saw them sink to the lower end of the table. They managed to pause their slump and hold their form, something which saw the club move back to a respectable position in the league. But another slump saw Newcastle slide down again. They now stand 15th on the table and have collected just 10 of their last 45 available points.
On the transfer front, things have been very jittery and unplanned. After a very impressive season in the Championships that saw Newcastle return to the Premier League, Benitez demanded more signings of Premier League standard to establish the club in England’s premier competition. However, with Newcastle unable to sell their existing crop of players, Benitez has had to deal with a stagnant squad and that has frustrated the Spaniard. With the January transfer window now open, Benitez will look to go through with fresh transfer dealings to improve his team.
One player who is being linked with a move to the club in the north is Nicolai Jorgensen. The Feyenoord Rotterdam striker is in hot form after scoring 8 goals in his last 10 games and is valued at £20 million by the Dutch side. Newcastle has reportedly seen their initial bid for the forward rejected but are likely to return with a bigger number.
The Danish striker who can also play as a winger has previously plied his trade in Germany for Bayer Leverkusen and in Sweden for Copenhagen. The 27-year old hitman has scored 34 goals in 61 games and would be an ideal fit for Benitez’s team given his strong hold-up play. Should he choose to come to Newcastle, he would be the second signing after Kenedy who was signed on loan from Chelsea recently.
The biggest problem at Tyneside however, remains with the growing conflict between the owner and the club. Mike Ashley has been extremely strict with his budget handling and with the owner unable to sell the club to a new investor, such budget constraints are expected to continue.
In light of such events, Benitez will know that he will not have a large fund to work with and will have to plan his new signings perfectly if he wishes to bolster his squad in every department.
