An increasing number of Premier League clubs are turning to the Championship as part of their recruitment strategy with England's second tier proving itself the host to a deep pool of talent evidenced by the smooth transition made by Southampton trio Jay Rodriquez, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana in the last two seasons, to name just a few. Newcastle's reported interest in Ipswich left-back Aaron Cresswell seemingly indicates that we are going to follow in the footsteps of our top-flight rivals and dip our hands into same pool after three frugal years spent ploughing the fields of France in search of Gallic bargains. A change of approach that would be well-received at St James'. Alan Pardew's longing to see Mike Ashley invest in British players this summer should lead to our scouts training an eye on the Championship as we plan for major squad surgery this summer and we believe there are five players deserving of a shot in the Premier League that the club should take a serious interest.
5. Jordan Rhodes
A record of 139 goals in five years is one that will surely grab the attention of Newcastle's recruitment team in their efforts to replace the firepower that will be lost when Loic Remy returns to QPR. Granted, Rhodes is untested in the Premier League and the majority of his goals came when he scored for fun in League One but he's proven that he can make the transition to a higher division and still find the net on a regular basis, as he has done for Blackburn in the last two seasons. 52 in 98 games for the Ewood Park club is anything but prolific. Although not blessed with the pace now considered an vital ingredient for all Premier League front-men, Rhodes is an old-fashioned centre forward with a modern twist with Intelligent off-the-ball movement, impeccable positioning and hold-up play, the Scotland international is surprisingly difficult to knock off the ball. But it's his ability to score with both feet and high conversion rate in front of goal that will appeal to Pardew. A Toon number nine in the making if there ever was one. Some have even likened him to a British Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Rovers acquired Rhodes from Huddersfield for a princely £8 million in 2012 but would expect any potential suitors to stump up double before they even entertain allowing their chief marksman to leave, a price that we can't see an overly-prudent Ashley stumping up. But with several fringe players expected to be culled during the summer in a projected remodelling of the squad a cash plus player offer could work in our favour if we were to make the 24-year-old a primary transfer target and would kill two birds with one stone.
