👀 Newcastle United's NEXT transfer priority

Shields Gazette

Newcastle United were beaten 3-2 by Arsenal in Singapore in a result that has made clear their next priority in the transfer market.

Transcript

00:00So, Newcastle United's tour of Asia began with a 3-2 defeat against Arsenal out in Singapore.

00:06Now, it was a good run-out for Newcastle United, of course.

00:08He got beat 4-0 by Celtic the week before, so it was a much better improvement from that game.

00:15Anyhow, obviously with the backdrop, with everything going on with Alexander Azak,

00:18he wanted his team to show reaction and really show that they can't compete with teams like Arsenal.

00:26Of course, pre-season friendly, you can look into the 90 minutes however you want.

00:30Whether you want to take a tactical look and see what Eddie Howard done,

00:34whether you just think actually it's just about fitness or whether it's just about getting players playing back against top opposition.

00:41Because I think that's a good thing with Newcastle's Asian tour is they are playing top opposition.

00:45They've got Spurs to come next week and, of course, Atletico Madrid and Espanyol when they return to St. James' Park.

00:50So, it was a good run-out against Arsenal.

00:52But there is one key area where they need the strength and in that area, as a centre-back.

00:56And I think that that showed, that game really showed that they do need more options in there.

01:01Now, how changed your back five from a back four in the second half.

01:06Dan Byrne and Jamal Sel started in the middle of the defence in the first half before they came off to half-time

01:11with five in chair Sven Botman and Emil Kraft in the middle of the second half.

01:15Now, that seemed like a solid set-up.

01:17And I think that, to be fair, Arsenal's strikers didn't really test any against the defence too much.

01:22I know they scored three goals, but, you know, one of them was an own goal.

01:25The other one was a good shot from the edge area.

01:27That was one defence you'd feel like they should have done better with.

01:30And, of course, the last one was a penalty.

01:31But the centre-half is an issue.

01:35Even though they've got five options, I mentioned the five there,

01:37they still need another one because of Sven Botman's injury.

01:39Now, Botman thinks he'll be fine.

01:41Dan Byrne said after the game that if it was a Premier League match, he wouldn't have came off.

01:44And it was purely his precaution.

01:45But injuries to Botman like that, just 25 minutes after coming on,

01:49does show how paper-thin they are in defence.

01:52Again, you know, Cher and Byrne did fantastically well last year to play all the games.

01:57And not just play and be available, but to play at such a high level

02:00with, obviously, LaSalle's and Botman out for the majority of the season.

02:04But they do need more options.

02:06They need more quality options, not just strength and depth options.

02:09Because I think they've got enough strength and depth, as I said,

02:11with LaSalle's and Kraft there, you've got Cher, Byrne, and then Botman's.

02:14You've got five centre-halves, really, four if you want to take, you know,

02:17Kraft as a major centre-half.

02:18But you've got four big centre-back options.

02:21But you do need them, though, and just to raise the quality,

02:24and just to, you know, to really make a statement in this window.

02:26Of course, we'll talk about Izak, and no doubt I'll do another video

02:28this week about Izak, but the centre-half is somewhere they need to strengthen.

02:32Bottman's injury really brought that into focus.

02:34Who that is, whether it's Giorgio Scalvini from Atlanta,

02:37or whether it's Crystal Palace's Mark Gahey,

02:39they just need someone who can come in, hit the ground running,

02:42and be present, be someone who, if Bottman is injured,

02:45then they can play alongside Cher and Byrne.

02:48If Bottman is fit, then they can maybe play alongside Bottman.

02:50But, yeah, it's, for me, that really is just focus and sharp on mindset.

02:55This is where they need to go next.

02:56The striker situation, for me, I said last week,

02:58was probably their main priority, and I still think it is.

03:00That's obviously changed with Izak, whether it's Wissler, Sesko,

03:03whether it's both of them, whether it's, you know, neither.

03:06That is an area that needs strengthening.

03:09They are looking at that.

03:10I just hope that that doesn't take their attention away from the fact

03:12that the centre-back is really somewhere else they need to strengthen,

03:15because that is a key area.

03:16And Bottman's injury, again, just sort of reinforce that idea

03:19that strengthening the centre-half is going to be key for them this summer.

03:22So, let's go.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended