10 Players Who Could Be Axed For Newcastle's Summer Recruits

Newcastle United may have started the summer slowly - being the last Premier League club to complete a signing - but with Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksander Mitrovic now added to the squad as attacking recruits, new boss Steve McClaren can start to prepare for the upcoming season in earnest. Goals proved difficult to come by last season at the club, with creativity in short supply ever since Yohan Cabaye left in January 2014, despite bringing a smattering of new faces last summer. Yet the recruitment of ex-PSV Eindhoven skipper Wijnaldum and Serbian hotshot Mitrovic is expected to change the fortunes of the Toon as they look to avoid another tense relegation battle - and with the two signed for significant fees, there are big expectations on the newcomers. While Wijnaldum can play in central-midfield or down the left channel, the belief in Holland is that the 24-year-old is best suited as a No 10, although he could well be deployed as a box-to-box operator. Mitrovic is the kind of clinical finisher that has had the former Anderlecht man linked with a host of clubs around Europe before arriving at St James' Park this week and excitement is high at the Magpies, with head coach Steve McClaren stating that the acquisition of these two players represents "a statement of intent" (nufc.co.uk, paywall). With the arrival of the third and fourth most-expensive signings in the club's history comes risk to those already in the squad, however. Two new attacking faces puts the pressure on a number of squad members who may previously have been somewhat complacent in their positions with a lack of overall depth. Here WhatCulture.com/NUFC takes a lot at the players who have the most to lose from the introduction of the club's two summer swoops so far...