Mike Williamson's Time On Tyneside Is Up - Newcastle WILL Recruit New Centre-Backs This Summer

Newcastle United and Mike Williamson have locked in a stale and unloving relationship for far too long - and this summer should finally see their marriage of inconvenience end in separation. The final reason for NUFC's divorce with Williamson should be the centre-back's dreadful display during the 2-1 pre-season friendly loss to Mexican side Club Atlas in Milwaukee. From the very first minute, when he was almost caught in possession and ended up reverting to his normal hoofball, to the very last kick the 31-year-old was simply woeful. Williamson was at fault for the second goal, along with Yoan Gouffran, as he was caught hopelessly out of position and then was brushed aside by Gonzalo Bergessio as if he wasn't there - and every time Club Atlas ran towards the ex-Portsmouth centre-back they looked like scoring. He has been a Championship centre-back in a Premier League side for more than four years now and this summer is finally the (extremely belated) time to offload him, with the likes of Leeds United interested. Signed for £1.5 million from Portsmouth back in January 2010, the former Wycombe Wanderers and Watford defender was seen as a stop-gap to help ensure Newcastle cemented promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Yet more than five-and-a-half years later and Williamson still finds himself as one of Newcastle's first-choice centre-backs in the Premier League, which is a large part of the reason why the Magpies conceded the second-highest number of goals in the top flight last season - an eye-watering 61. Thankfully the Toon faithful will be relieved to hear the Magpies are actively looking to recruit centre-backs this summer - whatculture.com/nufc understands they hold an ongoing interest in at least four - and it seems that Williamson's time on Tyneside is up. Marseille's Nicolas N'Koulou, Schalke 04's Joel Matip, Ajax's Joel Veltman (pictured below) and Anderlecht's Chancel Mbemba are the four names most-heavily linked with a move to Newcastle this summer, and any of those four would provide a welcome break from the Mike Williamson-Fabricio Coloccini axis of the past five seasons.

At least one, if not two, of those names are likely to arrive at St James' Park in the coming weeks - or, if none of those can be recruited, the Magpies will move on to pre-determined back-up targets - and Williamson will then likely be allowed to leave. The criticism of Williamson from a small section of Newcastle supporters is often overly harsh, and sometimes unnecessarily personal, but the fact of the matter is that there is not a place for the Stoke-on-Trent-born defender in the Steve McClaren and Ian Cathro era. Divorce proceedings have already been filed and Williamson will soon find his Magpies bags have been packed and his separation from the club rubber-stamped. Only then will Newcastle be able to start to begin to plug the huge gaping hole in the centre of their defence that goals keep leaking through on an all-too-regular basis... For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.