Following the fantastic January transfer business Newcastle United are now only a few players away from having a quality squad with plenty of depth and cover for long term injuries. For me the only area of our squad where we lack the numbers is in our forward line. Obviously we tried and failed to bring in Loic Remy, an outcome that will not worry many NUFC fans. During the transfer window there was also rumored moves for Wilifried Bony from Vitesse and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who currently plays for Saint-Etienne is the much known and scouted French Ligue 1.
Newcastle were unable to complete a deal which would have brought in a top forward to replace Demba Ba and instead signed the Forward / Midfeilder Yoan Gouffran to see us through until the summer. Newcastle currently play with a 4-3-3 formation and Alan Pardew likes to play with one centre forward, currently Pappis Cisse and to wide forwards who work hard going forward, but can drop back to the midfield - currently these positions are held by Gouffran and Jonas. Newcastle only have Cisse and Shola Ameobi as our first choice striking options. A top forward to compete / play with Cisse must be top of the transfer priority list this summer for the club.
I know Newcastle love the value of the European markets and our recent signing's prove this point perfectly. Quality players at a great price are available on the continent. Using this mind set the likelihood of Newcastle returning to Saint-Etinne with a bid to bring the Gabon international forward to the North East must be high. Aubameyang ticks all the boxes of what Newcastle look for in a player in terms of quality and importantly age (23) and I expect they will be patient in persuit to get their man at the right price. In Ligue 1 P-E-A has scored 32 goals in 75 games for a team currently sitting 5th in Frances top league and is much sought after.
For me and many NUFC followers Aubameyang is a player we have only really seen on Youtube - and while his goal compilations look great I would suggest there are currenlty two forwards in the Premier League who I believe we could buy and who would add so much to our team.
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| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang |
Firstly I would love to see us make a move for the Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku. The 20 year old Belgium international is currently on loan at West Brom and really has shown what a good player he is. WBA are having a quality season and performing well above their expected level. Lukaku has played a huge part in this scoring 12 goals in 25 games while sharing game time with 3 other established forwards. Lukaku's two goals at the weekend against Sunderland kept WBA's great run going while his performance filled with pace and power helped WBA out play Liverpool at Anfield 2 weeks ago.
This lad is very much in the Drogba mold and will be a huge player for the next 10 years. Lakuku joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in a 12m transfer after a goal every other game record for the Belgian club. He has been tipped as one of the hottest prospects in Europe.
Lukuku was sent out on loan to get some first team experience rather than sit on the bench behind Torres and now Demab Ba. As we all know Chelsea, and now Man City are a different kind of club. If Lukuku was owned by any other club he would be in their first team next season, however I think this lad has no future at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will be in the market for another top forward this summer whether it will be Falcao, Canvani or even Luis Suarez.
Stamford bridge is a graveyard for top young players - Romelu needs to talk to Scott Parker, Glen Johnson, Dan Sturridge, and SWP about the need to leave Chelsea to progress his career. This summer would be the time for Newcastle to sign a player who would be our top striker for the new 10 years.
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| Romelu Lukaku |
My second choice would also be another Belgian international forward - Christian Benteke who has been the only shining light for a Aston Villa side who seem destine for Premier league relegation. The 22 year old forward joined Villa from Genk for 7m last summer and so far this season he has scored 11 goals in struggling team, while also has kept 24m striker Darren Bent out of the team. Benteke's stats in Belgium are equally impressive albite in a lower standard of league he grabbed 19 goals in 37 games. Again very much in the same mold of Romelu Lukaku, Benteke's game is build around his pace and physical attributes.
With both of these forwards being young men they are not the polished, finished articles, they will miss chances and have poor games. Unfortunately NUFC cannot go out and buy a top level forwards so being able to bring in top young talent to develop is the way forward for our club. If we could grab Lukaku or Benteke in the summer I believe this would be a huge boost to our squad and would leave us with a striking trio of Cisse, Benteke or Lukaku and then the experienced Shola as back-up.
One obvious advantage to signing Benteke or Lukaku rather than Pierre-Emmerick Aubameyang is that they are already experiencing Premier league football. They are settled in the English game and therefore this eliminates the level of risk involved, there will be no settling in period and they could get on with the job of scoring goals from day one.
We have to trust in Pardew and Carr and believe they will add more quality to our squad this summer and no doubt a forward will be top of their priority list.
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| Christian Benteke |
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