Newcastle United supporters in the Transfer Tavern are eagerly anticipating the new Premier League season, what with it highly likely that manager Rafa Benitez will remain at the club.
The 58-year-old did a remarkable job in leading the Magpies to a tenth place finish upon their return to the top tier this season, this all despite spending very little in the transfer market. And with doubts over whether the funds will be available for the Spaniard this summer, many of our resident Newcastle fans were somewhat concerned when the West Ham job came up last month, only for Manuel Pellegrini’s appointment as Hammers chief to delight those Magpies supporters at the club.
As such, there are many excited and expectant Newcastle fans in the Tavern at present, several of whom are likely to be intrigued by recent reports linking Rafinha with a move to Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham.
And that’s because these fresh reports should prompt the North East giants into making a move for £13.5 million-rated Spurs star Harry Winks (as per Transfermarkt), as he looks set to suffer from Rafinha’s possible arrival.
Ultimately, the 22-year-old endured a testing campaign in North London this time round with just 16 Premier League appearances to show for his endeavours, none of which coming in 2018.
Yes, injures certainly have played a part in his struggles, and arguably cost him a place in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man England squad for this summer’s World Cup, but even if the midfielder was fully fit, it’s difficult to see him regularly disposing the likes of Mousa Dembele, Victor Wanyama, and Eric Dier in the midfield ranks.
And Rafinha’s possible addition is only going to add to his first team struggles, which is why Newcastle must seek to offer him a route out of Tottenham this summer.
Clearly, while the Magpies performed admirably this term in achieving a tenth place finish, they need reinforcements of genuine quality this summer to move to the next level next time round.
And while the central midfield ranks, notably Jonjo Shelvey and Mo Diame, deserve enormous credit for their efforts, bringing someone like Winks into the club can only be a good thing in terms of adding further quality and competition to the midfield department.
Remember, it was only back in October that Winks ran the show for England in their narrow win over Lithuania in World Cup qualifying to underline his credentials, and at the age of 22, he could go on and become a top-quality central midfielder at Premier League level.
And with question marks over the future of Mikel Merino, Benitez may feel that another central midfielder is needed this summer to compete with the likes of Shelvey and Diame – Winks could be that man.
With genuine quality on the ball, be it retaining possession under pressure as well as seeking to get forward and launch attacks, Winks’ arrival can only be good thing for a Newcastle side eyeing the next level next term, which is why they must take advantage of recent Spurs reports by moving for the Englishman.
Newcastle fans… what do you think? Let us know!
