This Past Week at Newcastle

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Monday

Rafa Benitez spoke about his loss on Sunday. Benitez felt that Jonjo Shelvey’s mistake has cost them the match against Tottenham. Shelvey revealed that he is seeing a professional about his anger issues as well. Shelvey said “Look, sometimes I just need to reign it in on the football pitch. I need to just shut up and stuff. I need to not get involved and walk away. I started to see a psychologist last year to work on the mental side of things. It was after the Forest game. I was sent off. I had kicked out at this lad and it was just childish. When people wind me up I should just laugh. I do need to get that out of me. Sometimes you can’t help it.”

Newcastle are closing in on Joselu for a £5M deal. The transfer fee and personal terms are said to be agreed upon for the Spanish Striker. The deal is expected to be completed in the coming days.

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Tuesday

Newcastle have confirmed that both Florian Lejeune and Paul Dummett will be injured for 2-3 weeks. Both players were injured in their first match defeat against Tottenham. Paul Dummett due to a hamstring pull, and Florain Lejeune due to a vicious tackle by Harry Kane.

Spanish Striker Joselu has completed a medical and personal terms have been agreed upon as an announcement is expected any day now for the player. The fee is rumored to be around £5M.

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Wednesday

SIGNING ALERT!

Joselu says he is very happy to be at Newcastle United after his transfer from Stoke City was completed today. The former Spain U21 International underwent a medical on Tuesday and agreed to a 3-year deal with the club. The 27-year-old is expected to be in the squad for Newcastle Premier League clash against Huddersfield Town on Sunday. The Striker said “I feel very happy because I have signed for a very big club. I’m very happy to be part of this club, and so excited. I’m looking forward to getting to know my teammates, the city, the training ground, the stadium and all the supporters.”

Rafa had this to say of Joselu:

“We have known Joselu since his days at the Real Madrid academy, and we know that he has the potential to do well for us. Obviously, he has experience of English Football and the Premier League and that was another thing we took into consideration. We think that if we can exploit his full potential he will be a good signing for us. He knows and accepts the challenge we’ve given him at Newcastle and he’s keen to come and fight for a position in the team.”

This transfer lays to rest the potential of signing Arsenal striker Lucas Perez. The player was already rumored to prefer a move back to Spain and this signing more or less proved that.

Thursday

Tim Krul is edging closer to the exit door as Benfica have been showing strong interest. Tim Krul returned after loan spell in the Netherlands and was told he would no longer be in the 1^st team. It seems Benfica would want to offer £4.5M for the player and the deal is said to be made early next week.

Jamie Sterry is back in training after being out due to a groin operation. The 21 year old defender should be returning to the pitch for the U23 team as they face off against West Brom this Saturday. Sterry will give Rafa an option to be called up to the 1^st team due to the injuries in the back four already.

Mikel Merino insists that he is ready to replace Jonjo Shelvey against Huddersfield. Shelvey will be banned for at least 3 matches. Talking about his fitness, Merino said “I am getting fitter. I am trying to get to 100% and stay there. I felt good after the Tottenham game, I’m strong and healthy. Let’s see, I have had one more week to be ready and get to 100% and I will be at my perfect capacity soon.”

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Friday

Newcastle United’s U23 squad came out with a 0-4 victory over West Bromwich Albion’s own U23 squad. Scoring for the young mags were Kyle Cameron, Luke Charman, Craig Spooner and Owen Bailey. Jamie Sterry did manage an appearance after returning from an injury.

Lineup: Paul Woolston, Jamie Sterry (Owen Bailey 46), Kyle Cameron, Jack Hunter, Josef Yarney, Curtis Good (Stefan O'Connor 46), Craig Spooner, Dan Barlaser, Luke Charman (Owen Gallacher 77), Liam Smith, Callum Smith.

Newcastle United exiled midfielder Jack Colback is nearing an exit after rumor has it that Steve Bruce is interested in bringing the defensive midfielder to Aston Villa. Colback has been told that he is not in Rafa Benitez’s plans for this season, and is headed towards the exit door. News of Bruce’s interest will get many fans excited.

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Saturday

Newcastle United is reportedly interested in signing Sampdoria’s Dennis Praet. The Sampdoria man linked up with Aleksandar Mitrovic prior to the Serbian joining Newcastle during their time at Anderlecht. Maybe some familiarity would do the both some good in the Premier League.

Achraf Lazaar is looking for a swift exit after what has been a nightmare spell at Newcastle United. He tweeted that he is working with his agents on an exit from the Tyneside club after having been with the club for only a season. He still has three years left on his contract.

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Sunday

Match Report

Huddersfield - 1

Mooy (50’)

Newcastle United - 0

Huddersfield

Team: Lossl, Smith, Billing, Kachunga, Mooy, Lowe, Van La Parra, Ince, Mounie, Zanka, Schindler

Subs Used: Quaner (69’), Palmer (72’), Hefele (90+2’)

Bookings: YELLOW — Billing (66’), Palmer (77’), Mounie (88’)

Newcastle

Team: Elliot, Clark, Lascelles, Gayle, Ritchie, Hayden, Perez, Mbemba, Manquillo, Merino, Atsu

Subs Used: Joselu (52’), Diame (76’), Murphy (80’)

Bookings: YELLOW — Ritchie (41’), Hayden (53’), Joselu (64’), Lascelles (90+1’)

Needless to say this was an absolute disaster of a match from the magpies. The club just couldn’t keep up, and the passing was abysmal. While we’re only two matches into the season, it’s safe to say that the club does not have all the pieces required to be a competitive club in the Premier League right now. Hopefully before the summer transfer window closes, we’ll see some improvement with the squad with at least two more signings.