Unfinished Business - Benitez will need to add three more to his squad

As expected, it has been a busy summer at St. James’ Park. After the Magpies’ inevitable demotion to the Championship was confirmed, anguish quickly turned into hope as Rafael Benítez opted to remain at the helm; taking control in all footballing matters – a unique theme under the Ashley regime.

The 56-year-old quickly got down to business: renovating the club’s training ground, ensuring Newcastle’s public relations is at its optimum and capturing the signatures of Belgian goalkeeper Matz Sels, Crystal Palace forward Dwight Gayle and Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie in quick succession; a promising start to the summer and the feel-good factor resonated around the North-East as season tickets surpassed the 33k mark.

A further 5 players came through the door, but just as importantly, Benítez trimmed the squad, discarding the deadwood players whose careers at the Gallowgate became untenable. Long-serving defender Steven Taylor and so-called captain Fabricio Coloccini left on a free; Papiss Cissé and the out-of-favour Florian Thauvin would have struggled with the rigours of the Championship, and therefore, departed. Andros Townsend’s £13m relegation release clause was met and Georginio Wijnaldum couldn’t wait to pack his bags after Liverpool came calling with a £25m offer.

It’s evident that defensive reinforcements were key. The signing of Blackburn’s captain Grant Hanley was a very shrewd move. The Scotland international has experience in the Championship as well as leadership qualities, and at the age of 24, he can definitely develop into a solid Premier League player under Benítez. Experienced full-back Jesús Gámez was highly thought of in Spain, and having watched him for Málaga and Atlético Madrid, Newcastle have signed a very competent player who will have no issues in adjusting to the Championship.

Hull City were desperate to make the signing of Isaac Hayden permanent, after he played an important role in their promotion whilst on loan from Arsenal. Naturally, a centre-back, Hayden is likely to play further up in defensive midfield for Newcastle this season. The former Southend trainee was extolled by Arsène Wenger after he made his breakthrough in 2013 and many Arsenal fans were disappointed to see him leave permanently. Ciaran Clark joining from fellow Championship rivals Aston Villa was perhaps met with some pessimism, but the ability to pinch a player from a rival, just simply demonstrates Newcastle’s pulling-power. Clark had a disappointing 2015/16 season with Aston Villa, and his development has stagnated. The premise that Benítez can develop Clark in the Championship is plausible, but whether he will get in front of Mbemba, Hanley, and now the new captain Lascelles, remains to be seen.

It’s without doubt that Ritchie, Gayle and Diamé will be huge for Newcastle in their promotion push. All three have comfortably established themselves in the Championship with Bournemouth, Peterborough and Hull City, respectively. With Townsend gone and Sissoko’s departure imminent, Ritchie will be Newcastle’s first choice on the right-wing. The central midfield position looked very defensive against Fulham. It required some sort of spark, energy and purposefulness; Mohamed Diamé will definitely bring that impetus. Bagging 10 goals from midfield last season for Hull City, Diamé was unlucky not to be awarded Hull’s 2016 player of the year award.

It’ll be interesting to see how Jonjo Shelvey performs this season. He made a good start to his Newcastle career after a big money move from Swansea, but below-par performances during the relegation run-in last season has seen him fall down the pecking order. Shelvey’s attitude has always been called into question, but the big advantage he has is that Benítez rates him highly – if Shelvey can be bothered and replicate the form that earned him an international call-up, he can easily become Newcastle’s best player.

Gayle has been awarded the prestigious number 9 shirt, so already in Benítez’s thoughts; he’ll be an automatic starter. That leaves us with Pérez and Mitrović to fight it out for a first-team spot. Both have undoubted ability to flourish in this division and bag a hatful of goals, but casting an eye back at the Fulham game, there is a premature judgment that this league may be a bit of a culture shock for the former.

In recent interviews, the Newcastle manager has spoken about experience and this summer’s recruitment is a strong indication that the Spaniard is looking for players that have thrived in the Championship. During his talk-in with BBC Newcastle radio, Benítez hinted that Adam Armstrong maybe loaned out, preferably to a Championship club where he will get games. A loan move may be sanctioned, subject to another striker coming in to the club. Although it’s still early days, the lack of cutting-edge against Fulham may sway the Magpies to splash out on another proven goalscorer.

The left-back position has always come in for debate and is arguably Newcastle’s weakest position. Since the departure of Davide Santon to Inter Milan, Paul Dummett and Massadio Haïdara have occupied the position. Dummett has come in for some criticism after he was run-ragged by Fulham’s right-back Denis Odoi. Going forward, Dummett doesn’t offer the threat as some of the modern full-backs do and his final ball into the box rarely reaches a teammate. During pre-season, Gámez slotted in the left-back position for a couple of games and looked lively despite being right-footed, and Dummett occasionally took up a central defensive position, where he looked more comfortable. With Haïdara still sidelined, the left side of defence must be made a priority to strengthen.

Playing Vurnon Anita on the right side of midfield at Craven Cottage was never going to give Fulham’s defence a headache. With Thauvin joining Marseille after his brief and miserable stay, there are murmurs that the wantaway Moussa Sissoko could be recalled to the side to face Huddersfield. Newcastle have not hidden the fact that they want to sign Brighton winger Anthony Knockaert, but negotiating a fee is proving difficult. Sissoko is desperate to leave and his wish is likely to be granted before this summer’s window closes, which would then leave the squad light on wide midfielders.

So, who should we look to sign?

Striker – Ivorian forward Jonathan Kodjia has been in sparkling form since his move to Bristol City. Pacey and powerful, he has scored 15 goals since arriving from French side Angers, last season. Aston Villa were credited with an interest, but after signing Ross McCormack for a fee in the region of £12m, their interest in Kodjia has cooled. Real Madrid’s striker Mariano Díaz could be used as part of the deal that takes Moussa Sissoko to the Spanish giants. He featured for Real Madrid this pre-season and caught the attention of Zinedine Zidane after his scintillating displays for Real Madrid Castilla. Hot-prospect James Wilson was on loan last season at Brighton and Manchester United could be willing to loan the 20-year-old again this season. It has been reported by the local media that the Magpies could be looking at the loan market as we approach the end of the transfer window.

Left-Back – Leeds United’s highly-rated full-back Charlie Taylor had a transfer request rejected by the club as he looks to force a move away from Elland Road. Taylor featured heavily for Leeds United last season and has also been used as a makeshift winger. The former England U-19 international was attracting interest from Newcastle earlier in the summer, so it could be worth keeping an eye out on the development of his future. Brendan Galloway is the latest name linked with a move to St. James’ Park, and he would be the ideal signing to rectify Newcastle’s left-back woes. A loan deal may be pushed through if Everton manage to find an adequate cover.

Winger – After having an £8m bid for Anthony Knockaert rejected by Brighton, Rafael Benítez told the media that trying to broker a deal for the former Leicester man was difficult due to Brighton being fellow promotion rivals. There are conflicting reports on Knockaert’s future at the Seagulls, but one thing’s for certain is that he won’t come cheap. There are tentative reports in Belgium that Newcastle hold an interest in Anderlecht winger Frank Acheampong. The left-footed Ghanaian can play on either side of the wing and his style of play could cause havoc in this league. Acheampong has blistering pace, is very direct and rather unpredictable; he’s the type of player that would get you off your seat.

Sheyi Ojo will have limited game time this season after Liverpool signed Sadio Mané and Georginio Wijnaldum. Ojo made a few cameo appearances for Liverpool last season and grabbed the attentions of many due to his no-nonsense direct wing play. Ojo also had a brief loan-stint at Wolves, during his five-month stay; he managed 3 goals and 4 assists. Klopp will be reluctant to sell him permanently, so a loan deal looks most viable.