Why Newcastle United must make a move for James Forrest in January
Celtic attacker James Forrest is enjoying a special time at Parkhead this season. He scored a hat-trick in Scotland’s crucial 3-2 win against Israel at Hampden Park that continued his brilliant start to the new season in the Scottish Premiership, taking his tally to 12 goals for club and country since the start of October.
Having come through the Celtic academy, James Forrest was once considered as one of the brightest talents in Scotland. But it took him some time to justify the tag and ever since Brendan Rodgers took charge of the club, the 27-year-old has been fantastic.
Keeping James Forrest’s impressive form and attributes in mind, Newcastle United must make a move for him in January.
Newcastle United have shown signs of recovery after a tough start to the new Premier League campaign. However, the Magpies’ attack has been blunt and has lacked energy in most of the games this season.
In Yoshinori Muto, Kenedy, Salomon Rondon, Matt Ritchie, Ayoze Perez and Joselu, Newcastle United have a decent enough attack to compete with the Premier League teams. But none of the aforementioned forwards have consistently delivered the goods at St. James’ Park, which should be a big worry for Rafael Benitez.
The current Newcastle United attack lacks pace, liveliness, and possesses a one-dimensional approach to their play in the final third.
Rafael Benitez is one of the top tacticians in world football but his ultra-defensive tactics in a squad, which is capable of doing much better than what they have produced so far, doesn’t bode well.
It’s true that the players Benitez has at his disposal are neither supremely gifted nor world beaters. But they all have the ability to produce the goods consistently. A lack of cohesiveness and consistency has harmed Newcastle this season, and unless Benitez gets reinforcements in January it looks very tough for them to survive in the Premier League.
As per a report from the Chronicle, Benitez will be allocated funds in the January transfer window to potentially break their transfer record. With money set to be available to spend in the transfer market, Benitez must go all out to sign James Forrest.
Forrest, 27, has the blistering pace to outrun his defensive counterparts. The Scotsman uses his exceptional close control and combines it with some exquisite dribbling to work his way past the defenders.
He is quick, agile, industrious and is versatile, capable of playing as a no.10 or as a wing-back. Furthermore, the 27-year-old is also a good finisher in front of the goal and would add a different dimension to Newcastle’s attack.
Read more: Newcastle’s defence would become a solid unit if they land this 30-year-old former PL ace in January
At 27, Forrest is playing right at the top of his game. Hence, signing the Celtic ace in the New Year could turn out to be a masterstroke for Newcastle.