Newcastle United Eye Watford's England Keeper Scott Loach

Chief scout Graham Carr charged with running the rule over the England and Watford stopper...

This Saturday while the whole of Tyneside was erupting under the tide of joy reserved for derby day victories in that neck of the woods, the man who holds the key to the club's transfer dealings was busy further south taking in the Watford game at Coventry. Graham Carr, the man behind the majority of the deals that the club have pushed through in the past few years (including the very impressive duo of Yven Moyo and Mehdi Abeid- look out for them soon) was at the Ricoh Arena to run the rule over some potential future acquisitions. And we can reveal that Carr was in fact casting an eye over England international goalkeeper Scott Loach, with the former embarrassment of riches available to Alan Pardew in the goalkeeping department depleted by the loan departure of Fraser Forster up to Celtic. That departure wasn't as much of a shock as some would have you believe, with doubts over Forster's maneuverability and kicking having made the decision a lot easier - and don't be surprised if he never plays for Newcastle again. Meanwhile further doubts over current third choice keeper Ole Soderberg, and over Steve Harper's fitness have forced the club's hand to go back into the market, with very promising youngster Jak Alnwick (as well as goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman's son, who is impressing) not yet ready to fill the third spot. The club are already credited with a some might say illegal approach for Charlton's Rob Elliot - and a second bid is to be expected, but Loach looks like a reasonable secondary choice should they fail in that particular pursuit. The 6 ft 1 stopper has appeared for Watford some 126 times since signing his first professional contact with the club as an 18 year old in 2006, and is unlikely to cost the Magpies anything like a value that would make the famously scrooge-like ownership balk. Not sure on whether or not to believe these stories? Well, the Ben Arfa story and the Ricky Sbragia coaching revellation made it two out of two...
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