Rafa Benitez has worked wonders in his first ever season in the Championship as he helped the Magpies out of the second tier, taking them to promotion, just a year after they were relegated from the Premier League.
The Spanish manager has made some decent additions to the squad already but he will need all the depth and quality he can acquire this summer if his side are to keep up with their performances from the next season. The Magpies have a decent squad at their disposal but Benitez is looking for a player who can improve his options for the first team next season and this has seen the club linked with some of the finest stars in England at the moment.
The former Liverpool man is still desperately looking for an attacker to add to his squad and is scouting some of the most exciting youngsters in England to give them a chance to shine in the Premier League next season and the latest name on the radar of the club is Manchester City star, Patrick Roberts.
A product of the AFC Wimbledon and Fulham academies in London, the 20-year joined the Etihad outfit back in 2015 but made just one senior appearance for the club, before being shipped out on loan to the home of the Scottish Champions.
Though it was his first season in Glasgow, Roberts put in a stellar performance, picking up 11 goals and 19 assists across all competitions, helping Celtic to the domestic treble last season. Capable of playing across all three positions in attack, Roberts is a versatile and dynamic attacker who has all the attributes to make him a success in England.
Quick across the turf and smart with his positioning, the 20-year old is an excellent finisher who is also adept at creating chances consistently for his side. With decent dribbling abilities, he is not an easy man to mark, and playing against fragile defences, he is just devastating.
At just 20, he has already made 100 appearances across all competitions in senior squads for different clubs in the UK and is establishing himself as one of the most exciting youngsters in the country. He is yet to make it into the senior national side for the Three Lions, but he is surely a star for the future and a great option for the Magpies.
They have already allowed a few attackers to leave the club this summer and Benitez is yet to decide on his starting XI for the next season and having Roberts in the squad, though gives him a headache, will surely improve the club’s chances to shine in the top flight next season.
