Newcastle are resigned to almost certainly being without the injured Joelinton for the remainder of the season and will review their January transfer plans at a specially convened meeting later this week.
With the Saudi Arabian majority owned club perilously close to breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules, the board had initially planned to postpone further recruitment until the summer but Joelinton’s groin problem could alter that agenda.
The 27-year-old Brazil midfielder damaged a tendon at the top of his thigh during this month’s FA Cup third-round win at Sunderland and, so far, the specialist medical consensus is that an operation followed by five months on the sidelines is the only way to resolve the issue.
Although Joelinton is set to see one final consultant this week, Eddie Howe is braced to be without a key enforcer in an already depleted department for the rest of the campaign.
With Sandro Tonali banned for 10 months following breaches of Italian betting regulations, Joe Willock out until next month at the very earliest after suffering a recurrence of an Achilles tendon injury, Elliot Anderson still recovering from a back fracture and Bruno Guimarães one yellow card away from receiving a two-game suspension for collecting 10 bookings, far too much responsibility has been placed on the shoulders of Sean Longstaff and 17-year-old Lewis Miley.
As things stand Howe’s team have lost six of their past seven Premier League games, slipping to 10th in the table, 11 points adrift of a top-four place. Newcastle’s manager had hoped to revive his team’s hopes of securing another European qualification by taking Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City but City are demanding a £7 million loan fee, plus an obligation to buy the high-earning 28-year-old England holding midfielder for £40 million in the summer.
That potential deal had been vetoed by Newcastle’s ownership but Joelinton’s injury, not to mention the reality that Guimarães is currently nursing a tight hamstring, may prompt the reopening of negotiations with City. If so, Howe could be faced with the unpalatable prospect of selling one of his biggest stars – Guimarães, Alexander Isak or Sven Botman – in the summer.
Howe has recalled the defensive midfielder Isaac Hayden from a loan stint at Standard Liège but, rather than reintegrate Hayden into his first-team squad, would prefer to send him straight back out on loan to a Championship club. Preston and Birmingham are both keen on adding the 28-year-old one-time Arsenal player to their squads.
Newcastle’s manager also has problems in attack where the in-form Sweden forward, Isak is currently his sole fit central striker and the wingers Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy remain on the long-term casualty list.
The outcome of this week’s transfer summit could well determine whether Newcastle fulfil their owners’ aim of securing at least Europa League qualification for next season but Howe knows recruitment will not be straightforward. “We have no friends in the loan market,” he said last week. – Guardian
