Who would have thought that Newcastle would be heading into the third week of the transfer window accredited with significant interest in signing their second and third English internationals of the window? If the Magpies can build on the impressive transfers of both Jonjo Shelvey and Henri Saivet to add more creativity and goals to the side, they will have had a good transfer window. Obviously some questions still rise over the defence, but with a stronger midfield the occasional major lapses by Fabricio Coloccini and his young sidekick Chancel Mbemba should be minimised. Plus Colo does still have world-beating games in him. The news today is that Newcastle have now been made strong favourites (1/4) to sign Tottenham's wide man Andros Townsend, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to the North East in the past week. West Brom are currently at 6/1 and Sunderland 12/1 in the race for his signature. Clearly bet markets believe he's on the move. The Daily Mail have Townsend valued at £12m and say he has told Newcastle he wants to sign, which is all good news for anyone who backed Townsend to sign at a wider price. Somewhat optimistically, Newcastle have also been backed into 5/1 for Alexandre Lacazette, which would be some coup for the Magpies. Probably count that one down to excitement. And Loic Remy currently sits as a 6/1 favourite for Newcastle as well. Meanwhile, the confidence in Newcastle signing fellow English target Saido Berahino (valued at more than £18m by the Mail) is less high, with Chelsea (7/4) and Tottenham (9/4) narrower than Newcastle at 3/1. The Mail say he's desperate to leave, and that Ashley has okayed the deal, so time will tell whether the Magpies can get their man. Would you be happy with Townsend and Berahino? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
