Newcastle United: Mitrovic latest; young Everton defender linked; starlet set to sign

By grvadmin

Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat at Fulham on Friday took some steps towards grounding some of the more confident Magpies fans, some of whom predicted an unbeaten season in the Championship. Rafa Benitez’s side might be far and away favourites for the promotion this season, but the Spaniard admitted he still has some work to do to get them there.

“I think we didn’t play at the level we expected,” Benitez said after the game. “We weren’t keeping the ball in attack, we weren’t winning second balls and we were defending too deep… We weren’t concentrating as we have to do.”

“We have to keep working.”

A key part of Newcastle’s promotion ambitions will doubtless be striker Alexandar Mitrovic. Reports said that Benitez doesn’t trust the Serbian forward, who is currently suspended, and that the club would be looking to offload him.

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On the other hand, new reports coming out of the Shields Gazette, arguably a more reliable publication closer to the club, say that Mitrovic is a firm part of Benitez’s plans this season.

Mitrovic scored nine goals for Newcastle in the Premier League last season, despite their struggles and lacklustre scoring record under Steve McClaren. The 21-year-old will be an incredible offensive outlet in England’s second tier.

Despite already shelling out an estimated £45 million in transfers this summer, reports say Benitez is looking to further sure up his defence by signing Everton’s Brendan Galloway on loan.

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The 20-year-old, who can play at centre-back or full-back is highly regarded on Merseyside and featured 15 times in the league last season, 14 of which were starts.

An England under-19 international, Galloway continually impressed in an otherwise dreadful Everton defence, completing 3.3 tackles per game, one more than Paul Dummett managed.

Dummett had an underwhelming performance at left back against Fulham, and Galloway could go a long way to reinforcing an otherwise shaky area for Newcastle.

While the majority of Benitez’s signings have been for the first team, he’s beginning to set a precedent of building for the future as well.

The Sporting Director of Danish club HB Køge has confirmed that youngster Elias Fritjof Sorensen is set to join Newcastle.

““It is true that we are still talking to Newcastle, and we have had several great conversations with them, and it is likely to end up with a transfer” said director Per Rud.

The 16 year old striker became HB Køge’s youngest ever player when he came on as a substitute against Silkeborg in May.

Sorensen has been training with the club during the summer, and impressed enough to earn himself a move.

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Will also writes for Football Ticket Net, his choice for Newcastle tickets