Sandro Tonali is still training with Newcastle, and aside from not being able to step out on the pitch for them in each game, the status quo remains much the same as it did before he was banned for illegal betting activities.
The Italian maestro won’t be pulling on the black and white shirt until next season, so in the meantime the Magpies need to plan accordingly and that means bringing in some talent during the January transfer window.
Whomever is acquired will need to hit the ground running at St. James’ Park for a couple of reasons.
Eddie Howe can’t be wasting time and money on players that don’t fit the style that he wants to play at Newcastle, and furthermore, if they don’t do the business, Tonali will simply waltz back into the side once his ban has ended, thus rendering competition for that particular place on the pitch moribund.
One player that has been mentioned in dispatches is being courted by other clubs too according to Fabrizio Romano.
‘There are multiple Premier League clubs monitoring Valencia’s Javi Guerra, including Newcastle, but I’m not aware of any proposal at this stage,’ he wrote in his Daily Briefing column for CaughtOffside.
With some important matches still to come before the January transfer window opens for business, who Newcastle go for will absolutely depend on how they fare in Europe.
‘As I always said here, who the club go for as Sandro Tonali’s replacement will depend on their fate in Champions League – that is gonna be key to understand how much they will invest in January,’ Romano added.
Even though the Saudi Public Investment Fund will have one eye on Financial Fair Play, there should be enough wiggle room within the budget to be able to accede to Howe’s wishes once again.
Time will tell if that includes buying Javi Guerra.