Sunderland born Newcastle United fan Adam Johnson could turn out to be the signing that would push The Magpies up into a top four finish next season. 25 next month, Johnson has found it difficult to break into the Man City first team since the arrival and form of David Silva and with the possibility of more signings this summer, City might be looking to offload him. Johnson is as technically gifted as any winger in the Premier League and is equally proven to be solid on either flanks. Newcastle currently have Jonas Gutierrez, Hatem Ben Arfa, Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan as forward thinking wide options but with Gutierrez nearing 30 now (he's 29 next month), and big questions over Obertan honing his talents at the North East, there is definitely room for another option for Alan Pardew. Johnson played 38 times last season in all competitions (26 in the league) for Man City scoring 7 goals. Since joining the club in January 2009 he has played 97 times and scored 15 times, and turned out for England on 10 occasions and scoring twice. Despite being so much better a player than Stewart Downing, England manager Roy Hodgson overlooked him because he wasn't getting enough first team games. He has hinted a move to the North East would be of interest and Newcastle would be wise to pursue. With the departure of Peter Lovenkrands, we now have a number 11 shirt left waiting for him at Newcastle. Of course the chances of a deal are slim. Although Johnson is interested in moving away from City in pursuit of first team football, he is also aware that no club would match the kind of wages he is earning to be a bit part player at City. Plus his transfer fee valuation that could be as high as £10 million would likely put off Newcastle who often can get cheaper alternatives aboard because of the inflated price of English players.