Eddie Howe stated during his press conference this morning that Sandro Tonali was not working with the first team.
Even though it was widely reported in the press last week that he may train with Newcastle during his 10-month ban, Howe said the club was still waiting for official permission from the Italian authorities.
And, of course, we’re being associated with a number of midfielders in January who can fill in for Tonali while he’s out for the remainder of the season and the first few games of next season.
To us, the best option appears to be Manchester City’s 27-year-old 30-times-capped England international Kalvin Phillips, who has been informed by manager Pep Guardiola that he must find a new club in January.
City paid £47 million to recruit Phillips from Leeds United in the summer of last year, and he’s only played 27 times for City since signing in what has proven to be a disastrous decision for the Englishman.
City just stated that they want at least £50 million for the player in January, so where is the logic in that?
million.
In addition, England boss Gareth Southgate has warned Phillips that he needs to play more first-team games if he wants to fly with the England group to Germany for Euro 2024 next summer.
We doubt Newcastle will want or be able to pay £50 million for Phillips in January, therefore a loan with an option to buy may be the best answer for our club.
This allows Newcastle to evaluate Phillips before making a formal choice next summer.
However, Manchester City may seek a permanent move for their midfielder in January, or a loan with an obligation to buy, which means we’d have to buy him next summer for an agreed-upon amount, preferably less than £50 million.
It’s similar to the contract we struck with Chelsea’s Lewis Hall last summer, when we took him on loan for the season and agreed to pay Chelsea £27 million next summer, with a possible £7 million in add-ons.
This enables us to get around some of FFP’s limits.
One reason Phillips may be a smart long-term signing is because Eddie Howe has mentioned that he loves the player a lot, and he was probably already around the top, if not the top, center midfielder Newcastle wants next summer.
According to the comments we’ve read, not all readers are sold on Phillips, but we believe Howe and his great coaching team will develop him into a far better player at Newcastle than he is today.
He’s an excellent defensive midfielder.
