Over the past 48 hours, Newcastle United have made all the headlines as it looks like up to THREE players could have found themselves a new club in the shape of Newcastle. But why are these transfers just beginning to happen? Here at NewcastleFansTV, I have tried to answer that question.
One of these signings has already been confirmed as NUFC completed the signing of Swiss international defender Fabian Schar from Deportivo La Coruna after The Magpies activated his £3 million relegation release. Much like new Leicester defender Jonny Evans, Newcastle have found themselves a top-class defender for very little money. It's clear to see that this signing was funded by the sale of Chancel Mbemba, but where are other signings coming from?
Yesterday, The president of Bundesliga side FSV Mainz announced that Newcastle have agreed a deal in principle to sign Yoshinori Muto for a fee of around £9.5 million, the only matter now is for the player to receive a work permit in order for the Japanese international to be able to play in England. The player also posted a photograph of himself on social media flying from Tokyo to Newcastle.
Rafa Benitez doesn't want to stop there, though. Reports suggest that the NUFC manager wants to make another three signings on top of these two. He would like to add Salomon Rondon, a new No.10 and more full-back cover ( the priority full-back target looks to be Bristol City star Joe Bryan).
Let's start with the former of the 3. West Brom striker Salomon Rondon. The Venezuelan international has been on Benitez's radar for quite some time now and with the impending sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic, who he would like to replace for a similar, more well-disciplined player. Newcastle United would have to match his £16.5 million pound release clause, making a man who only managed seven goals in a poor West Bromwich Albion side worth less than all-time Premier league and Newcastle United top scorer Alan Shearer.
A conversation between him and a friend was recently leaked on social media, with the player stating that he was moving house. This shows that the player is definitely about to move club. Without any news coverage around this transfer at the moment, this could signal another undercover transfer from Rafa Benitez, much like Newcastle's second signing of the summer, Ki Sung Yeung.
Finally, Newcastle's main full-back target is Bristol City star Joe Bryan. Newcastle's interest in this player has been confirmed and it is believed that the player favours a move up North. However, there have been reports stating that Mike Ashley refuses to pay for the man that single-handedly took down Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.
In conclusion, this article seems to show that Newcastle have been 'wheeling and dealing' in this summer's transfer window in order to try and make a way around Mike Ashley's lack of investment in Newcastle as transfers have only occurred after the sales of players like Mikel Merino for £10 million, Chancel Mbemba for an undisclosed fee of around £5.5 million and Matz Sels for £3.5 million.