Polarboy

Either Sesko's agent is as much of a tit as Ekitike's, or it looks like we might be getting him. Of course it might sting a bit when it's announced that Bayern or someone have been the ones to actually swoop in. If that was his agents intention i.e. generate publicity for his client by posting about being in Newcastle without the intention of ever signing for us, then he's done his job for his client I suppose.

Newcastle continue search for attacking reinforcements after Moussa Diaby setback (90min.com) Our old friend Graeme Bailey at 90 minutes reckons we're biding our time with Calvert-Lewin until later in the window, and are assuming that a) Everton still need to generate money even after selling Richarlison, and b) that they'll be more amenable to giving us a better price later in the window when they're trying to make signings themselves and won't have time to haggle. Well the bit about getting a better price is more my interpretation of it reading between the lines. If correct it would seem that DCL leaving isn't beyond the realms of possibility. Of course if he were available you would assume Man U, assuming Ronaldo goes, Chelsea etc might try and jump in given their problems up front.

200,000k a week, fucking hell. If there was any doubt that he's only really in it for the money that's been dispelled. I'm glad we steered well clear of him. I'm no fan of those bubble blowing twats in east London, but any player with even a small bit of sporting ambition would have chosen the 'ammers. As for Forest I suppose if he helps keep them up it will be money well spent, but the amount of players Forest are buying and the money spent rarely spells success for promoted sides. Fulham did something similar one of the seasons they came up and they still went straight down. For one thing you lose any camaraderie that was developed in your promotion season, and obviously team cohesion is also lost with so many players trying to gel together. Of course Fulham didn't have anyone of the quality of Lingard in fairness.

Getting rid of the dead weight, and I mean that in the nicest way possible, is probably a lot harder than we even think. It's going to take two or three windows on top of last January to get our squad into decent shape.

They might want to win at least one European Cup/Champions League before they start talking shite about taking over from AC Milan who've won seven.

Douglas seems relatively skeptical about this Slovenian lad. I also keep seeing journalists hinting that we've got a secret deal going that we won't find out about until it happens.

We are looking for players who can help us press from the front.

I'll mention again that Ashworth wanted Nunez for Brighton before he even went to Benfica, so if this kid is reminiscent of Haaland he could be a very exciting, albeit for the future, prospect. Which is not to say he couldn't chip in with a few goals this season should he sign. Apparently Liverpool have been scouting this kid as well.

Tuchel has just been quoted as saying that he doesn't expect Broja to leave. It would be pretty funny if West Ham missed out on all their targets for a striker yet again. Looks like Lingard is going to them, but they've been trying to sign a striker since Haller left. Of course if will only be truly amusing if we actually do something up front, and they don't get Scamacca, which they still might do. Scamacca doesn't really fit the profile of what we're looking for, but it would still be annoying if he signs for West Ham and starts banging the goals in.

Even if the quote about him supposedly deciding to stay in Germany is true, it still doesn't mean he wouldn't leave if an offer comes in. Unless he wanted to actively agitate to leave there's no up side for him to say he wants to leave at this stage, even if again he's open to it. Leverkusen have already said they'd have to consider a big offer, so he could just be leaving it in his clubs hands, so if he does leave he's less likely to get any bad PR.

Seen a few reports saying that Chelsea want a loan as opposed to a permanent deal for Broja, so we might steal in front of West Ham for his signing. If the choice is between Broja on loan and Diaby permanent, or Paqueta and someone like Dennis, you know what I'm not really sure what I'd prefer. On the face of it Diaby and Broja have the greater collective potential, but we may never see Broja's full potential if Chelsea wanted him back after a loan period.

We yeet one of Longstaff or Shelvey in the bin with a big smile on our faces. You actually bring up an important point though, and the fact is that Shelvey and Longstaff should both command some sort of fee, as opposed to the players we've let go on loan and got nothing for so far. We could perhaps get 10 to 15 for Shelvey, and if we're lucky maybe a bit more for Longstaff given his age. An extra 15m would come in very handy.

Newcastle United: Ben Jacobs drops interesting Lucas Paqueta transfer claim | thisisfutbol.com No idea how reliable this Ben Jacobs lad is but he's basically echoing the other report in regard to Lyon having lowered their demands in terms of a fee. He goes on to say that we along with other clubs are talking to his agent to see what it would take to sign him. If any of the aforementioned is true you would like to think we have an advantage given he and Bruno's connection.

Dennis and Paqueta would be the two I'd currently pick given our apparent failure on other targets. Both Cornet and Dennis can play across a front three, but I think Dennis is more comfortable playing centre forward. Again Dennis would kill two birds with one stone being able to play wide and centrally, and we clearly do need a creative player in midfield alongside Bruno and Joe, with Paqueta being ideal. Dennis may only cost 20m maybe 25m. We keep hearing we only have a certain amount to spend because of FFP, who knows what the truth is, but for two quality players we could perhaps try and structure the payments for one or both. Of course given that Watford are in the Championship we could perhaps give them someone like a Murphy, Manquillo, Ritchie or Fernandez in part exchange. All four would do a job for a Championship side. With regard to Arsenal and Paqueta I think it's pretty unlikely that they'd go after him after spending so much on this Fabio Viera lad who's also an attacking mid.

😂 The travelling fans are singing Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle. Can't make out which player the song is for.

Not sure where the commentator is getting that Almiron's end product has drastically improved since Howe came in. He mentions that goal of the season contender he scored last season, but the very odd goal he does score tends to be decent.

Newcastle United - Watch Mainz match on NUFC TV

Worst comes to the worst I do believe we'll get a few on loan towards the end of the window, with the likes of Hudson-Adoi, Pulisic, players from abroad etc, becoming available once other teams have done their business for the window. If that's what happens it will be a reality check of where we still stand in the pecking order for any of those that need it.

In fairness there's over six weeks until the window closes, so it's not time for the pampers yet. I'm trying to take my own advice by saying this as opposed to pointing fingers 😂👍

Eddie Howe ready to gamble on fitness of Callum Wilson this season and rely on forward for 20 goals | Daily Mail Online Hope is saying that we're going to spend all our remaining money on a winger, and rely on Wilson up front, with Howe drawing up a special training plan for him to hopefully keep him fit the majority of the season. On the other hand Howe was interviewed recently and he said that he wants another couple of players. Howe a few days before that interview was talking about getting at least one, and perhaps having to alter our plans in terms of position we were going after. So maybe I'm reading too much into it, but perhaps things have shifted a bit in the market and we'll be getting two attacking players instead of just spending all our remaining money on a right winger.

He'll fit right in, in East London then. The Italian version of the Krays.

So they're after Broja and Scamacca, and already have Antonio obviously vying for one spot up top? Seems unlikely, but I suppose with Antonio's fitness concerns, and the fact that Broja can play wide it's not totally out of the question. I'd have to admit I'd be more than a little envious if West Ham pulled off both those transfers given our current position in the market.

Best case scenario is that most stuff you see in the papers is almost pure speculation, and Ashworth and co will sign two or three players in a very short space of time, one or two of which will comes as a nice surprise, perhaps not have even been mentioned as possibilities. Chris Waugh and few others have hinted that we're trying to buy someone who hasn't been reported on as of yet.

Glass half full maybe we've made some progress on another target, and so didn't feel the need to go back in for Broja again. You would hope by the end of next week we'll see some substantial movement on someone. Of course it's also likely that moving to West Ham was just the most convenient option for Broja if he's only going to be going on loan.