Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Newcastle boss Steve Bruce has revealed the club already have a couple of deals in the works.
What did he say?
The Magpies of course are still awaiting confirmation of whether their proposed takeover has gone through or not, with the Premier League yet to ratify the Saudi consortium’s bid.
Despite that, Bruce has claimed that the Tyneside club are already working on transfers ahead of the start of the new season in September. He said (as quoted by The Chronicle): “As soon as the window opens, we’ll go to work. Things are not on hold. We need that (takeover) decision to be made, but the only thing I can do, along with Lee (Charnley, Newcastle’s managing director), is to keep planning as best we can, and that obviously includes the transfer market.
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“I think, even without the takeover, a lot of clubs will be taking stock of the situation. When I say business as usual, we’ve got one or two irons in the fire right now – let’s hope we can pull them off. We’ve got competition, but I think that’ll be the case right through the summer.”
Good news
Whilst the takeover eventually going through will surely be worth the wait, the fact of the matter is, that Newcastle simply cannot afford to stand still and be passive this summer.
The quick turnaround from the end of this season on Sunday afternoon, and then the restart in early September, means the Magpies will have to be working flat out over these coming weeks to ensure their transfer targets are secured nice and early.
Waiting around for the Premier League to give the green light to the takeover would just waste unnecessary time, and even leave them in limbo. It’s exactly why Bruce’s claim that they have “one or two irons in the fire right now” should make for welcome reading.
