Newcastle United must act quickly if they want to have a team strong enough to participate in the Premier League and in the Champions League in the next quarter.
So far, only Anthony Elaga has moved to the Magpies this summer. It was an excellent company, but more is necessary for Eddie Howe.
There was no shortage of links, for sure, but other clubs beat them in punch for players such as Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Bryan Mbeumo.
Although the addition of another striker or two to the team is a priority for the manager, there are other areas that could be strengthening.
Newcastle’s search for a new midfielder
The midfielder’s area was not reserved for improvement, in particular not compared to the offensive and defensive departments of the club.
This does not mean that Howe will not consider a decision for someone who could offer the right qualities, however.
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Newcastle plans to bring Conor Gallagher back to the Premier League this summer.
That being said, the Toon competition in the face of Tottenham Hotspur, with Thomas Frank says he is an admirer.
The player’s agent has already started to put the palpors to determine the midfielder’s options, but he would ideally remain with Atletico Madrid if he had a choice.
The Atleti Star could be available for around 50 million pounds sterling, which could be tempting for Howe. The manager can call on several midfielder options, but the addition of Gallagher could be a wise decision, in particular given the former Chelsea man offers the same type of qualities as Bruno Guimaraes.
Why Newcastle must sign Conor Gallagher
Guimaraes is the support point behind this Newcastle team which not only won the League Cup last quarter, but also obtained a place in the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
He scored five goals and won eight assists in 2024/25, and Howe will seek him to continue this beautiful form until next season.
Gallagher may have played 50 times for Atletico, but only 27 of them came from the departure XI. However, he has qualities similar to Guimaraes, especially when comparing their statistics from the 2023/24 Premier League season.
This term, Guimaraes was the most comparable player, via Fbref, in Gallagher, and they both performed well.
|
Gallagher vs Guimaraes in 2023/24 (PL only) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Metric |
Puff |
Gigou |
|
Goals |
7 |
5 |
|
Aid |
8 |
7 |
|
Big chances created |
12 |
11 |
|
Abloces per game |
2.4 |
2.3 |
|
Total duels won per game |
7.7 |
5.7 |
|
Key passages per game |
1.7 |
1.4 |
The pair also recorded similar statistics with regard to objectives and assists (12 vs 15), shots by 90 (1.38 vs 1.32), shooting actions by 90 (3.14 vs 3.94), attacks Won (52 vs 53), a successful percentage of socket (58.5% vs 54.5%) and attack criminal (79 vs 75) and season.
On this proof, Gallagher would be an excellent signature, offering Howe the complete package in the middle of the park that Guimaraes also provides.
Not only can he contribute in the last third, but English is more than capable of involving defensively and helping his team leave the ball.
He was even praised as a “machine” by the former Chelsea Moise -Caicedo teammate, meaning how important he was for their style of play.
Will Howe will be willing to pay 50 million pounds sterling for a midfielder when he has an urgent need for an attacker and a defender this summer? Only time will tell us, but Gallagher was certainly worth it.
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