Newcastle fans should not rule out 'July surprise' akin to last year's signing of Sandro Tonali - journalist

Newcastle United have been toiling away in the background looking rounding up transfer targets for when the window opens on Friday 14th June.

The Magpies have already missed out on one target with Tosin Adarabioyo, who at one point looked destined for the Toon, now set to join Chelsea when his contract at Fulham expires at the end of the month.

In better news, Newcastle look likely to sign Lloyd Kelly from Bournemouth when his contract at Bournemouth is up, and while there's still things to be worked on with that deal, all signs point towards that one going ahead.

Meanwhile Newcastle are linked to players from all over the globe, some carrying more truth than others, with the most likely targets being those with Premier League experience according to journalist Mark Douglas.

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Mark Douglas has said to expect another surprise signing this summer

Douglas has been looking at the upcoming transfer window from a Newcastle perspective in his latest piece for inews and the one paragraph that really stood out was this:

"At the moment the majority of the targets that have emerged have Premier League experience on their CV but the club have been scouting in France, Italy and Germany over the past 12 months. A potential “July surprise” – think Sandro Tonali’s move from AC Milan which blindsided many – is more likely than not."

Last summer there were many links with Newcastle and Italy but it was Federico Chiesa and Nicolo Barella who were grabbing all the headlines, until suddenly it all switched and it was Sandro Tonali's name that was being written about, and just a couple of days later the move was confirmed. Newcastle had managed to throw everyone off the scent to get the deal done in the background while everyone was looking the other way.

Newcastle like to operate in the shadows

In fact, a lot of Newcastle's transfer business since the PIF-backed takeover has happened that way with the deals remaining secret until they're close to being announced.

That's not to say that every rumour is a smokescreen. For example, Lloyd Kelly's imminent move has been touted for a while, Sven Botman's transfer seemed to drag on for ages in the media before that one was complete, but we can't rule out another shock acquisition.

Let's hope for another Tonali-esque statement signing ... maybe one that will actually benefit us in the upcoming season this time though, eh?