Any transfer work done behind-the-scenes for this summer's window will be thrown out of the window if they relegated, reports The Chronicle. Of course, that almost doesn't need reporting as common sense would suggest that most targets would suddenly have a change of heart should the Premier League club courting for their services no longer offer top-flight football but the wider implications of this current crisis IS worth discussing. It's understood that exciting and flamboyant Marseille prospect Florian Thauvin has been in recent talks with Newcastle over a summer switch to St. James' Park, alongside his club team-mate, pacy Senegalese forward Andre Ayew. Both names will of course already be familiar to Newcastle fans as The Magpies have been chasing their signatures for the past several seasons. In the case of Ayew, the closest the club came was supposedly last summer but he decided to see out the final year of his contract, likely figuring out that more options would become available to him as a free agent (it's suggested that he has his heart set on Liverpool ideally). Thauvin meanwhile, only just joined Marseille on transfer deadline day in September 2013 after having turned down the chance to Newcastle who had been chasing him since he was a teenager at Lille. He has recently struggled to find regular pitch time and was left out of Marseille's squad for the game against Metz this weekend. The Daily Mail claim Newcastle and Tottenham are both lining up moves for him in the summer and have already held talks though Marseille value him at a pricey £15 million. Meanwhile, The Chronicle reports that Serbian centre forward Aleksandar Mitrovic of Belgium side Anderlecht was a key target for the summer rebuilding job and that The Magpies were at one point very confident of him coming to the North East. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddnPPwhDHBI Clearly AT LEAST one centre-half should be on the agenda this summer as the lack of squad defensively is thin, as is the quality among them. Fabricio Coloccini's lack of leadership has lost the fans' faith in his abilities, Mike Williamson's NUFC career looks over after his suspension and Carver's defamation of character yesterday and the ageing Steven Taylor is unreliable to stay fit to see out a campaign. How attractive is the prospect of joining the Titanic that's not yet sunk but has clearly been dented by a huge iceberg and with mis-management on all levels failing to patch up the holes, actually going to be for these kind of calibre signings? Even if we do survive, the task of whomever in a tracksuit or suit and tie is in charge of the club next season of convincing them to come to Newcastle in the summer will almost be as difficult as keeping us in the league in the first place. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.
Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.
