Newcastle United Transfers: 5 Players They Must Sign

Five options to turn a relegation battle into mid-table security for Steve Bruce's men.

by Andrew Pollard
Newcastle United's Andy Carroll reacts after their 0-1 win in the English Premier League soccer match against Arsenal at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) ** NO INTERNET/MOBILE USAGE WITHOUT FOOTBAL
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

For Newcastle United fans, there's rarely a dull moment.

This summer, Mike Ashley has (again!) nearly sold the club, only for any takeover to seemingly fall apart. Then, Rafa Benitez finally decided that he'd had enough of Ashley and headed off to the renminbi-filled riches of China. And in amongst all of this, star forward Ayoze Perez departed St. James' Park to join Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City.

On the other side of the fence, Newcastle now have a £40 million Brazilian leading their line, and they've brought in life-long Newcastle fan Steve Bruce as their new manager - a decision which hasn't exactly won the club's fan base over.

With the transfer window slamming shut in just a matter of days - 5pm on Thursday, August 8th, to be precise - there's still just about time for The Magpies to get a few more deals over the line as Bruce looks to add to his squad ahead of what could well be a difficult season for The Toon.

As Newcastle look to fill several roles in their starting XI and overall squad, then, here are five players who could make the difference between a painful relegation battle or a far more successful season for Newcastle.

5. Allan Saint-Maximin (Nice)

For Newcastle fans, they're currently waiting to finally get confirmation that the club are signing Nice winger Allan Saint-Maximin.

After looking a certainty to happen, the deal seemed to hit a brick wall as Toon fans broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of missing out on one their priority targets. According to The Chronicle, though, the deal is back on and should be completed imminently.

Going one further, French radio station RMC states that Newcastle's Lee Charnley is in Nice ahead of an €18 million deal finally being agreed.

In Saint-Maximin, Newcastle would be getting a 22-year-old tricky attacker who can play anywhere across the front three. The St. James' Park faithful are famed for loving an entertainer and the type of player who will get the crowd off their seat.

Should the deal for Allan Saint-Maximin finally get over the line, The Magpies could have a whole new dimension to their attacking play.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.