With Champions League football to look forward to next season, Eddie Howe and the Newcastle board will know that they have to strengthen in key areas ahead of the new season.
The Magpies have been brilliant to watch of late and, but for a wobble from which they later recovered, they could’ve earned their first silverware in decades.
As it turned out, they were narrowly beaten to the Carabao Cup by Manchester United, and it’s the Red Devils who could prove to be a thorn in their side again when it comes to trying to secure one of their main transfer targets this summer.
Although their total of 33 goals conceded was only matched by Man City, Newcastle appear keen to look at central defence as a matter of priority.
To that end, Napoli’s brick wall, Kim Min-jae has been a player of interest, with his reported €60m/£52m release clause not thought to be problematic for the club.
However, the Daily Mail report that the club believe that it’s Man United that are leading the race for the player.
Were he to move to Old Trafford, Howe will need to move quickly to identify another player that can bring the same solidity and presence that the South Korean did for Napoli during their first Scudetto-winning season in three decades.