Rafa Benitez’s assault on the transfer market is set to continue with Chelsea man Christian Atsu all set to become the manager’s 12th addition of the summer. It looks like Newcastle are making it absolutely sure that they will do everything necessary to ensure that the club can dominate the Championship and return to the top tier next year. Benitez has added suitable covers for almost every position of his team and after the shaky start the team is now looking a bit more settled, gaining momentum with every win.
Since joining Chelsea from FC Porto in 2013/14, Atsu has been sent out on loan for each of his three years so far and has spent time in the Eredivisie with Vitesse Arnhem and La Liga with Malaga while having spells in the Premier League as well on with Everton and Bournemouth. Newcastle are set to be his 5th destination away from Chelsea since joining them for a fee of £3.5m on a 5-year deal. The Magpies have the option to buy the 22-year old outright at the end of the loan spell and that is a very good clause to insert in the deal.
The midfielder struggled with his fitness while he was at Bournemouth but got more playing time at Malaga where he made 10 appearances in the La Liga and scored 1 goal as well. Atsu has shown what he can do on the pitch on his International duty with Ghana in the African Nations Cup 2015, where he bagged the accolade of being the best player of the tournament and the award for the best goal of the tournament for his strike against Guinea. It was a shame that Ghana ultimately lost to Ivory Coast in the final in the penalty shootout.
The acquisition of Atsu would be an excellent move for Newcastle, the player is almost certain to entertain the Tyneside outfit with his pace and skill. Having spent time on so many different clubs already in his career, it won’t be any problem for the player to adapt to the challenges of the Championship and he will definitely be a player who would play a crucial role in Newcastle United’s exploits in the 2nd tier this season.
I have already mentioned in my previous article that the squad under Benitez with the current additions is looking in extremely good shape and including Atsu into the mix will make the team almost a unanimous favourite for the Championship crown.
Benitez so far has done little wrong since taking charge of the club and is working slowly to build its base so that he can launch it to reach the high standards it reached in the past. The acquisition of Atsu seems to be yet another step in the right direction by the Spanish manager which will benefit the club in the near future.