It's fair to say that Newcastle United have struggled considerably in the transfer market in recent seasons. This time last season players started flowing in and bids were flying around for some fairly exciting and high potential players, by this time Jack Colback and Ayoze Pérez had already arrived, and Siem De Jong and Remy Cabella were not far away from signing for the club. However the current state of United's transfer affairs has proved fruitless, and Newcastle are yet to nail down a single player this off-season so far. The club has been linked with numerous names from a variation of different clubs in different continents and leagues, but none have become concrete or even had confirmed bids, or even interest. Most of the names have proved either underwhelming, or out of our price range, United were recently quoted a laughable sum of £29million for Wolfsburg striker Bas Dost, a decent player with a strong enough record, but not worth the price tag demanded by his club.
So here I look at five players that Newcastle United should be chasing up, but are failing to recognise their potential.
Honourable Mention: Max Kruse
Nationality: German
Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach / Vfl Wolfsburg
Position: Striker/Centre Forward
Age: 27
Apps: 77
Goals: 25
Assists: 23
Value: £10.56m
Max Kruse is a solid centre forward much in the mould of a Loïc Rémy or Chicharito, he has decent pace for his size and can hit a ball harder than any player seen in the German league outside of the top teams. Valued at around £10.5m Kruse can probably be picked up for between £8.5m and £10m, however given that Kruse was Mönchengladbach's second-top scorer in the Bundesliga last season (a campaign in which they finished 3rd) with 11 goals (joint 10th in the league overall) and finished with 9 league assists (joint 5th in the league overall) meaning his value could be inflated considerably. Kruse is the type of player that Newcastle could benefit well from with an occasional long-ball game that they are used to playing, given his size and strength it's possible to see him working in a similar position that United tried placing Emmanuel Rivière in occasionally during last season. Kruse would work well alongside of just behind Ayoze Pérez, the pacier player of the two, feeding balls between defenders and being used as a "battering ram" in a similar style to Andy Carroll during his time at Newcastle. It would also be interesting to see Kruse being used as a focal point in a counter attack set-up, his strength and aerial ability would prove him to be a strong target man, with Pérez perhaps playing off his chances created. Unfortunately Vfl Wolfsburg managed to pick Kruse up from Mönchengladbach for just €12million (£8.5m), a strong player that Newcastle failed to notice, and have since missed out on.
1. Kevin Volland
Nationality: German
Club: 1899 Hoffenheim
Position: Winger/Right MF
Age: 22
Apps: 110
Goals: 28
Assists: 29
Value: £17.6m
Kevin Volland, a player not unlike the great Laurent Robert, is a player Newcastle could truly benefit from. One of United's sole issues comes from their lack of creativity in midfield, Remy Cabella, Jack Colback and other midfielders have not contributed enough from the centre of the park to be called "creative" players, and Siem De Jong has not had enough game time, due to unfortunate injuries, to truly prove himself in the side. Volland has applied his craft in the Bundesliga for almost 100 games, and proved himself to be a strong creative force on the wing for his club Hoffenheim, with 28 career assists in the Bundesliga in 99 games has shown that he has that creativity that United need a fresh injection of. Giving that Volland currently plays in the German top tier, a league not dissimilar from our own Premier League as far as physicality and fitness goes, Volland would be a strong fit for United, as well as fitting in well with some of the more physical players in the side, such as Emmanuel Rivière and Papiss Cisse. Volland, a top player at his club, could go for a hefty price, however giving the quality that Volland possesses he is certainly a player worth breaking the transfer record for. But giving that the aforementioned Max Kruse was sold for less than £9m, Volland could perhaps be moved for less than £15m, which is certainly value for money, and worth a punt for Newcastle United.
2. Nathan Ake
Nationality: Dutch
Club: Chelsea
Position: Defender (centre-back, left-back)
Age: 20
Apps: 12
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Value: £1.32m
Nathan Ake would certainily be a player considered "one for the future", a high potential defender coming out of Chelsea's youth academy, recently being linked with Premier League hopefuls for next season Middlesbrough, looking to attain Ake's services on loan. Ake, comparable to David Luiz in some ways, but most notably former United manager and Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, he can play at both centre-half and full-back, as well as his pace, ranged passing ability and strong leadership allowing him to be deployed in a defensive midfield position. Ake captained Chelsea at youth level, having won the U21 League championship, as well as receiving his first Premier League winners medal last season for his contributions to Chelsea's title-winning season. While Ake would be considered a hot prospect, and an investment in Newcastle's future, he would likely be able to do a job in the first team given the current state of the back line United currently have...he really can't be any worse than Mike Williamson, can he?
3. Marcel Schmelzer
Nationality: German
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Left-Back
Age: 27
Apps: 233
Goals: 4
Assists: 19
Value: £6.16m
There's no doubt that the German market is a fairly strong and promising market that Newcastle United can take advantage of, and with the sale of Davide Santon there is room for a number one choice left-back to stake a claim in the side. While many fans will attest that Massadio Haidara is good enough for the first choice role, there is also a contingent of fans that believe Haidara is not a good enough option for the number 3 position. Schmelzer is a classic left-back, strong, intelligent and quick, with a very good cross, Schmelzer is a defender, and that's what he does, he defends, very well. He is certainly not the type of player that's going to wander forward out of position and cause problems at the back in the way Davide Santon and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa did, and while he occasionally gets forward and whips in a good ball, he's not the type of player to go forward often and look to hit it from range. But the good thing about Schmelzer is that he has that in his locker, he can hit a ball with some ferocity, but he provides enough solidity at the back and a strong ability to create chances from deep with good balls forward so he spends most of his time in his own half guarding his goal like a pitbull on a chain guarding his property. Schmelzer has spent 8 years at Dortmund and would be hard to move, giving his loyalty to the club, but loyalty means nothing today in football, and giving his low market value and fairly average goalscoring stats he can be picked up for fairly cheap, the only potential stumbling block could be a strong demand in wages.
4. Luuk De Jong
Nationality: Dutch
Club: PSV
Position: Striker/Centre-Forward
Age: 24
Apps: 45
Goals: 26
Assists: 14
Value: £5.28m
Luuk, brother of Newcastle midfielder Siem De Jong, had a short and unfruitful spell on loan at United during the 2013-14 season but has since moved on to PSV Eidenhoven in his native Netherlands and has grown into a proficient striker in his homeland. With 26 goals in 45 appearances last season overall De Jong has shown that he has enough decent goalscoring pedigree to be given another chance with Newcastle. Along with a creative force like his brother and the aforementioned Kevin Volland behind him Luuk could grow into a Newcastle United great in the same mould as Alan Shearer if given the right coaching, but most importantly if given the chance. De Jong could prove a valuable asset to United's frontline if deployed alongside or behind Ayoze Perez, much in the same vain as described in my points about Max Kruse. De Jong could perhaps be seen as a cheaper and more available alternative to Max Kruse who has recently moved, and with United also having the services of Luuk's brother Siem, could prove a tipping point in negotiations if Luuk and Siem were looking to join up and aid United and McClaren's ambition.
5. Jay Rodriguez
Nationality: English
Club: Southampton
Position: Winger/Left MF
Age: 25
Apps: 76
Goals: 26
Assists: 11
Value: £11m
English players are notoriously overpriced, but with players like Jay Rodriguez £11m could work out to be an absolute steal. However given Southampton's recent notoriety for their tendency to grossly over-value their players (£30m for Luke Shaw?) their is a strong possibility that they could ask for a fair amount more than £11m. As stated earlier Newcastle have struggled creatively, and a big part of that problem is their lack of contribution from the wings, players like Yoan Gouffran, Gabriel Obertan and Jonas Gutierrez have not proved good enough at creating chances in recent seasons. One of the bright lights of last season was Rolando Aarons, however the teenager suffered an injury plagued debut season with the Magpies and has shown himself to be a fairly unreliable players, Aarons contributed greatly at times, but at other times generally went missing in games and failed to contribute at all. Jay Rodriguez would bring a level of consistency to the team as well as a good amount of pace, Rodriguez recently signed a new four year deal with the Saints so his transfer fee could be inflated but his ability to create chances as well as take ones that come his way could prove a worthy investment. United could benefit greatly from his crossing ability with players with the aerial power of Luuk and Siem De Jong, and Moussa Sissoko were to get on the end of them, Rodriguez also boasts a fairly decent right foot as far as shooting is concerned, as well as being able to get himself out of the tightest situations. Rodriguez could bring the exciting flair and creativity once provided by David Ginola in the strongest Newcastle Premier League team to date, a worthy investment I'm sure.
Final Thoughts
With the addition of the players listed above, as well as the addition of a couple of more heads, and the scrapping of dead wood such as Mike Williamson, Yoan Gouffran and others, Newcastle United could prove to be a strong force in the Premier League next season. Players like Ake, and Rolando Aarons who is already at the club, would set a standard for young players coming through, and provide a backbone for the club to build a future on. Players like Marcel Schmelzer and Daryl Janmaat could provide some creative flair and chance creativity from deep that was sorely lacking last season, with manager constantly favouring safety over risky but exciting football. With the addition of wingers like Volland and Rodriguez to an already strong midfield with players such as Sissoko, Colback, Cabella and De Jong, United could finally add the extra flair needed out wide to finally play some exciting counter attacking football that has been missing since the days of a front three of Ben Arfa, Ba and Cisse that lasted all of three months. Also with the addition of Luuk De Jong, and maybe another quality striker up front alongside the promising and exciting Ayoze Perez, Newcastle could find themselves in a very strong position in the coming season.
Do you agree with the players listed above? Do you have any suggestions on who we should be chasing up? Sound off in the comments below and let your voice be heard, or tweet me @AMJ93NUFC. Hope you enjoyed today's post.
Until next time.
