The Toon Army in the Transfer Tavern are hoping for an improvement in their next 5 league fixtures after their previous 5 yielded little to shout about on the terraces at St James’ Park.
Newcastle were relieved to end a run of four straight defeats with a 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns last night. Thus far this season, they have desperately struggled for goal-scoring form with summer-acquisition Joselu struggling to find his feet on Tyneside so far. The fact that Newcastle’s centre-back and club-captain Jamaal Lascelles remains joint-top goal-scorer with Joselu with 2 goals epitomises the extent of the problem.
The January transfer window could provide Benitez with an opportunity to add fresh attacking talent to his squad, should there be funds available to the Spaniard.
However, prior to January, Benitez should be exploring the qualities of his current squad to find a solution to their goal-scoring crisis.
Benitez has entrusted Ayoze Perez in the number 10 role behind Joselu for the majority of the season, but it is about time he pushed Mikel Merino further up the field to offer Newcastle a new dimension in the final third.
Merino made his return to the starting eleven against West Brom yesterday evening in a familiar central-midfield role next to Isaac Hayden with Perez in-front of the pairing.
The former Borussia Dortmund man has stolen the hearts of the Newcastle faithful with his performances thus far.
In his brief career in the English top-flight, he has shown that he is comfortable in possession and fantastic at using his body to shield the ball from opponents.
Newcastle would sure benefit from the same quality and composure Merino could provide in the final-third whilst undertaking a more advanced midfield role.
If Benitez wishes to see his side unlocking defences and scoring more goals in the Premier League, then he needs to take a small gamble by deploying Merino behind the striker.
Thoughts?
