There's an increasing acceptance now that Newcastle United are going to have to sell players before we can add to the squad.
The trouble is, the players that most fans would be happy to see leave the club are those who won't bring in much revenue.
Miguel Almiron is facing an exit, and while the club seem convinced they can get £15 million for the Paraguay international, the last two transfer window would suggest otherwise.
Jacob Murphy, Matt Targett, Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier are all surplus to requirements but for various different reasons, are unlikely to bring in much in terms of transfer fees, although getting them off the wage bill would be very handy.
The reality is, if Newcastle want to fund big-money moves of their own, they're going to have to sanction at least one big-money exit.
Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon have recently signed new deals and seem less likely to be one of the sacrificial lambs.
Alexander Isak would fetch in a fortune for Newcastle and the fact that his contract talks have been placed on hold, combined with Newcastle's slump, the Swede could start pushing for a move before long anyway.
However, Calciomercato in Italy believes Sandro Tonali could be the one to make way as someone who still has 'many admirers' around Europe. A return to AC Milan has been written about since before the wheels of his flight landed in Newcastle.
Arriving for £55 million in 2022, Tonali has spent 10 months sidelined due to a ban for gambling, and now that he's back, Eddie Howe hasn't found a regular place for him in the starting XI which is frustrating fans, and will definitely be frustrating Tonali himself.
Despite that, we don't see Tonali being the one to be shown the exit. If nothing else, he owes the club for standing by him during his ban and Newcastle will want that debt to be repaid on the pitch.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
14 | 18 | 35 |
2 |
Chelsea
|
15 | 17 | 31 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
15 | 14 | 29 |
4 |
Manchester City
|
15 | 6 | 27 |
5 |
Nottingham Forest
|
15 | 1 | 25 |
6 |
Aston Villa
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
7 |
Brighton
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
8 |
Bournemouth
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
9 |
Brentford
|
15 | 3 | 23 |
10 |
Fulham
|
15 | 2 | 23 |
11 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
15 | 12 | 20 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
15 | -2 | 20 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
15 | 1 | 19 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
15 | -8 | 18 |
15 |
Everton
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
16 |
Leicester
|
15 | -9 | 14 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
15 | -6 | 13 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
15 | -13 | 9 |
19 |
Wolves
|
15 | -15 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
15 | -20 | 5 |