Eddie Howe was questioned about Newcastle’s January plans during this morning’s press conference, with Sandro Tonali suspended for the rest of the season and NINE first-team players currently out.
His response, as expected, revealed little. “January is such a long time away,” he said. I can’t sit down and tell you what we’re going to do. When we make our plans, it will be closer to January.”
However, it appears that we will require more than a temporary replacement for Tonali, as Howe’s comments on Sven Botman’s knee injury were particularly concerning.
We’re almost two months after his initial injury, and Howe admits that we’ll find out “over the next few weeks” what the full extent of the injury is, refusing to rule out surgery when another journalist asked if it was a possibility.
A loan midfielder is likely to fill the void Tonali has left – Kalvin Phillips and Ruben Neves have both been strongly linked – but it appears increasingly likely that we will also sign a centre-back, especially after failing to sign one during the summer window.
It’s well known that we’ve been looking for a young, right-sided center-back capable of becoming a long-term partner for Botman.
The latter is out, and it’s unclear how long he’ll be out, but Fabian Schar has filled in admirably on the left side. Dan Burn is another option down that side, necessitating the need for another right-sided option, ideally with pace, athleticism, and ball ability.
It remains to be seen what the club’s finances will allow in January, but if we focus on signing a loan player to fill the gap in midfield, some funds may be available to sign a centre-back if the right one emerges this winter.
I don’t expect Crystal Palace to sell Joachim Andersen in the middle of the season, but European options could be explored, with Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo, Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba, and Benfica’s Antonio Silva among the ‘targets’ who did not land summer moves.
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