This Week at Newcastle United

Monday

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Newcastle have joined the race to sign Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph and are also keen to sign goalkeeper Joe Hart. Man City see the keeper as a surplus to requirements and there is no shortage of interest from other clubs, and the Magpies were the latest club to inquire. Stoke city seem to have the first initial interest in Delph by submitting a £12M bid for Delph who has not been able to become a first team regular at Man City. The 27-year-old was an amazing player at Aston Villa which led to his move to Manchester City. It has not worked out as planned and he is now eager to get a move done. Joe Hart is also in a similar position, and while many clubs are interested, I am sure he would be more than willing to pick up the phone if Rafa calls.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are closing in on a deal for Jacob Murphy. Reports claim that Newcastle are lining up an £8M bid for the Norwich City winger. Southampton and Crystal Palace are also monitoring the 22-year-old. Rafa has already brought in Christian Atsu on a permanent deal from Chelsea and he’s now hoping to get another promising winger in the England U21 International.

Newcastle has also moved into the top position to sign free agent Jesus Navas. Navas was released by Manchester City at the end of last season having joined the club from Sevilla in 2013. According to reports he has until Sunday to decide on returning to Sevilla but they are not seeing eye to eye on a contract. Newcastle are confident a deal can be done with Navas if he decides not to rejoin Sevilla.

Tuesday

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Rafa Benítez claims he has been frustrated this summer by what he said was a “crazy” transfer market. So far NUFC have struggled to strengthen the team with new singings. They have brought in two signings, Christian Atsu from Chelsea and Eibar defender Florian Lejeune. the club have been upset so far at the attempts to get signings over the line. Talking about the market, Rafa said

“It's not easy for a lot of teams because the market is a little bit crazy. We have to try to do our best. The top sides have a lot of money. The other teams are spending too, but we will see what we can do."

Newcastle are inching closer to signing Norwich winger Jacob Murphy. The Magpies have submitted an £8M bid that Norwich is considering. Newcastle are interested in Murphy due to his great goal scoring record in the championship last year.

The club is also shopping striker Daryl Murphy. Murphy is being linked with a move to Sunderland as well as other Championship sides. Murphy has great pedigree in the championship and helped Newcastle with 6 goals last year. There is a catch with the link to Sunderland however, as Murphy could only join on a short-term deal as the black cats don’t have the funds available.

Wednesday

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Magpies are interested once again in Diego Rolan. The Bordeaux striker is reportedly interested in a move and was in London to meet with Fulham representatives. Rolan had 9 ligue 1 goals in 19 appearances last season and it seems the Magpies could come in late to swoon the striker. Newcastle have been interested in Rolan for the past two seasons and transfer fee of £12M is rumored to be the number needed to get him.

Reports are going around that French club Metz are interested in signing 27-year-old striker Emmanuel Riviere. Riviere spent last season on loan at Osasuna and it did not go well for him. Riviere joined in 2014 from Monaco and has only scored 3 goals for the club since.

Newcastle have moved their interest to the Netherlands for Ajax Left back Jaïro Riedewald. Rafa is definitely looking for promising young players and Riedewald would be no exception to that. Ridewald is also getting interest from Crystal Palace.

Thursday

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Newcastle moving closer with Jacob Murphy. They had an £8M bid rejected earlier, however, they are coming back with a better offer of around £10M. Murphy is also keen to leave as he wants to get Premier League minutes this season and has reportedly told Norwich of his desire to leave the club this summer. Murphy signed a 4 and half year contract not too long ago which is why it has been more difficult for Newcastle to reach an agreement as the canaries want a hefty fee.

It looks as if the magpies are going to miss out on Sheyi Ojo as he looks to be heading to Middlesbrough. Liverpool wants Ojo to have more playing time and they think Middlesbrough would be able to provide that over Newcastle.

Rafa Benitez will be telling the younger players at the club to use the Checkatrade Trophy as a stepping stone to getting a place on the first team. Newcastle will field a U23 team in the competition and has been put into a group with Crewe Alexandria, Oldham Athletic, and Port Vale. Speaking about the competition, Rafa said

“I think every year it’s more difficult because of the money. “You can bring more players from abroad. Normally, if you bring players from abroad, they have to be better. So for the young lads, for the homegrown boys, it’s always more difficult to have an opportunity in the first team. But it’s important for them to keep going, to keep working hard, and if they have talent, it’s ideal for any manager to have a player with talent in the Academy.”

Friday

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Newcastle will be offered Darren Randolph if West Ham sign Joe Hart. West Ham is close to agreeing on a loan deal with Man City for Hart. This move could see either Randolph or Adrian leave the club. Reports are saying that it will be Randolph that gets optioned out and the magpies will have the first chance to sign him. Rafa has shown his desire to sign a keeper this summer after Newcastle have been linked with Willy Caballero and Pepe Reina. Newcastle have many goalkeepers on their books, however, with their willingness to sell Tim Krul and the perceived low asking price from West Ham, it could be a potential move.

Winger Christian Atsu made headlines today with a quote about Newcastle.

“It was always my first choice to come back to Newcastle. As soon as the season ended, I knew I wanted to stay. I always loved working with the team here and always loved playing for Newcastle. I wanted to be part of the Newcastle family and now I really feel like I am part of the team here... The manager called me and told me he wanted to sign me. I was very happy at that moment. He called me and showed me a lot of respect and I need to repay him that now.”

Newcastle are also interested in Jonathan Bamba. According to reports in France, multiple clubs, including the toon are interested in speaking with him.

Sammy Ameobi is officially no longer at Newcastle as he signed a one-year deal with Bolton Wanderers. The 25-year-old spent last year on loan at Bolton scoring four times.

Newcastle kicked off their new season today with a friendly against Hearts in Edinburgh. Dwight Gayle picked up where he left off scoring twice in a 2-1 win. New signing Florian Lejeune also made his debut with the club.

Match Report Here

Newcastle

Team: Elliot, Haidara, Clark, Mbemba, Lascelles, De Jong, Atsu, Diame, Shelvey, Aarons, Gayle

Subs used: Woodman, Gamez, Dummett, Hanley, Lejeune, Colback, Saivet, Armstrong, Mitrovic, Lazaar, Perez

Hearts

Team: Hamilton, Smith, Smith-Brown, Nowak, Hughes, Berra, Walker, Buaben, Stockton, Cowie, Goncalves

Subs used: Grzelak, Martin, Currie, Cochrane, McGhee, Brandon, Sammon, Petkov, Beith

Goals:

Newcastle

Gayle 4, 26

Hearts

Walker 24