Newcastle United are flying in the Championship, and Rafa Benitez has really turned things around at St James Park, creating a buzz around the city that hasn’t been seen for a little while in connection with the football team.
In the summer he conducted one of the biggest transfer overhauls in their history as he cleared out all of the deadwood, and signed players more capable of boosting Newcastle’s promotion chances.
So far, it looks like Newcastle are a shoe-in for a Premier League place next season, as they sit 8 points above the play off places. So you could be forgiven is Benitez has one eye on the Premier League as he plans for the future and taking Newcastle back to the heights that their fans feel they belong.
So with this in mind, it is doubtful that Newcastle will make any signings without knowing that the player is suitable for the Premier League.
Currently, you could argue that whilst Newcastle are flying, there are a number of positions that will need upgrading between January and the summer if Newcastle are to be successful on their return to England’s top division.
Goalkeeper
Whilst both Matz Sels and Karl Darlow have been fighting it out for starts in the Championship, you have to question whether both players are capable of taking Newcastle back into the top half of the Premier League.
Selz in particular isn’t a fan favourite as shown by him shutting down his Twitter account after a poor piece of goalkeeping in the clubs 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in September.
Centre Half
Newcastle centre half Jamaal Lascelles has made a great start to the season, and was even made Newcastle captain. His performances in the centre of defence have been extremely solid and it looks like he is finally fulfilling the promise that he showed early in his career. It is thought that he is more than capable of making the step up to the Premier League.
The question is who will partner him in the long run, and Newcastle currently have Irish defender Ciaran Clark alongside Lascelles. And whilst he performing OK at the moment, question marks must be raised over his long term suitability to the role, as he couldn’t find a regular place in the dreadful Aston Villa defence that got relegated from the Premier League last season.
Left Wing
Currently, Newcastle have Frenchman Yoan Gouffran playing in the left wing position and he has become somewhat of a lucky charm for Benitez as he is let to lose a game. His hard work and industry has given a balance to the Newcastle midfield. The issue however, is that his contract runs out in the summer and Newcastle will need to fill the void should he move to France as is looking increasingly likely.
Not only that, but the 30 year old Frenchman has already had a long spell in the Premier League and he didn’t really impress the first time, so although he is playing well at the moment, it is perhaps best that both parties part way in the summer.
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