Former Liverpool and Real Madrid star Steve McManaman spoke about Newcastle United’s new project and how Los Blancos could be a potential location to start the recruitment to move them forward quickly.
Should Newcastle go shopping at Real Madrid?
Newcastle hit the headlines in recent weeks once confirmation came through of the more than $300 million Saudi-led takeover. While pushing away the obvious moral questions that this move generated, thoughts turned to possible signings and the timeline in which they may be triggered.
Currently sitting in the relegation zone of the English Premier League, and with a tough set of fixtures leading up to the end of the year, the Magpies may need some key players to come in during the January transfer window to, at the very least, keep them in the top flight for the following season.
McManaman, speaking to horseracing.net, had a warning for the North East club over agents, but also pointed to LaLiga’s giants Madrid as a club where some solutions could be found.
“Newcastle just have to be very careful,” he began, with such high-profile and mega-rich owners in place. “Everybody in the world knows that.
“Every agent will be trying to push their players into Newcastle.”
Assessing their needs, which are getting more and more desperate every week but won’t be fully known until we reach the turn of the year, McManaman recommended Los Blancos’ Welshman Gareth Bale as a suitable transfer target.
“Gareth Bale would be very interesting, of course he would, as he’s got a year left on his contract and he’s a super player. The only thing is whether he wants to come back to this country as he loves life in Madrid.”
Hazard, Isco, Jovic…
And Bale wasn’t the only Madrid player in mind.
“Eden Hazard is now on the wrong side of 30. And you have to be very careful with Isco and Luka Jovic. I don’t think Isco is a Premier League player, he just lacks that little bit of pace.”
Within these words of caution, LaLiga’s ambassador recommended that Newcastle should sign young superstars rather than betting on veteran players who have almost had their day.
‘Haddaway, man, there’s nee way am signing for the Toon.’
BENOIT TESSIER (REUTERS)
“Marquee signings to me are the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. You’ve got to be careful that you don’t pay older players lots of money and then they don’t turn up.”
The dilemma that Newcastle find themselves in is that they are unlikely to be able to bring in the cream of world football until they are in a position to be close to offering Champions League football. Until then, they will probably have to build with slightly more modest improvements. How long that will take is anyone’s guess.
