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Newcastle United and Rafa Benitez have failed to win their first two games in the Premier League against Tottenham and Huddersfield. The Magpies squad seems to be attenuated and have very less Premier League experience.
Tension is building up between the owner Mike Ashley and the manager Rafa Benitez due to the lack of quality summer signings. Benitez will have to sell to bring in more players having already acquired the signatures of Jacob Murphy, Florian Lejeune, Christian Atsu, Joselu, Javier Manquillo and Mikel Merino.
However, their squad needs to be reshaped to survive in the Premier League. In particular, midfield needs to be trimmed along with the players in the wide areas.
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Let's look at some of the players who could improve the Magpies.
Kevin Mirallas (Everton)
Ronald Koeman has already signed Gylfi Sigurdsson and Oumar Niasse who can play in the attacking midfield or wings as Kevin Mirallas. In addition to that, Yannick Bolasie is another winger who is ahead of the injury schedule which he suffered last season. Newcastle have Atsu and Ritchie in the wings, but the experience of Mirallas could prove vital for the Toons.
Blessed with pace and sharpness, the Belgian is one of those players who has the potential to change games single-handedly. He scored 4 goals and set up 6 goals for his teammates last season.
The former Olympiakos man can be one of those names Newcastle should look upto. Everton are ready to sell Barkley for the right price, but, Mirallas would give that spark which Newcastle are lacking at the moment. Anything around £20 million will check the resistance of Everton.
Yohan Cabaye ( Crystal Palace )
The former Newcastle man did not star in Crystal Palace's first two Premier League games against Huddersfield and Liverpool.
Cabaye lived upto his hype at Newcastle under Alan Pardew before shifting himself to Paris Saint-Germain under Laurent Blanc. At Paris, he had to compete with the likes of Blaise Matuidi, Adrien Rabiot, Thiago Motta and Marco Veratti.
He started only 13 games out of 28 appearances in Ligue 1 that season. The Frenchman followed Alan Pardew to Crystal Palace and the fans adore him for his influence within the dressing room. Cabaye made 75 appearances for the London side scoring 10 times, and has 5 assists to his name.
Yohan Cabaye has exquisite technique and possess a dangerous threat to the opponents with his set piece delivery and dead ball situations. It is a no brainer for Newcastle to go back to their midfield star. Palace's demand will be less as their starman has only one year left in his contract.
Wendell ( Bayer Leverkusen ):
We know that Newcastle have Paul Dummett in the left back position, but frankly, they can do better by bringing in Wendell.
The Welsh International is neither an attacking threat or a defensive powerhouse, while Haidara has proved a losing gamble.
If Newcastle have aspirations of staying up, they need reinforcements. He has made 86 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen in 3 years.
He creates one chance per game which is hardly outstanding, not far off Dummett who creates 0.8. Unlike Paul Dummett, Wendell is extremely fast and suited well for Roger Schmidt's high pressing game. He can also cope up with the pace of Premier League.
Last year his defensive contributions was excellent with a combined 5.2 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes.
Under 5'9, Wendell wins half of the aerial duels. He has not won a cap for Brazil, but he has been called up for World Cup qualifiers by coach Tite despite having three prominent left-backs in Alex Sandro, Marcelo and Felipe Luis. If Rafa wants to finish as high as he can, Wendell is one of those names to be noted.
Danny Ings (Liverpool):
Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and Dominic Solanke are fighting for the striker spot this season. Danny Ings, who made his move from Burnley during the summer of 2015, has made just 10 appearances for the Reds until now because of the constant knee injuries he has suffered.
Jurgen Klopp said Ings will not be sold because of the determination he showed during rehabilitation and the player is itching to play for the Reds. The talented English striker is playing for the Under-23s this season to regain his full fitness.
Newcastle really don't have much pace to offer in the front line. Danny Ings might just give that to Rafa's side - who currently have Gayle, Mitrovic and Joselu at stake. A Season long loan deal might settle the deal for the Magpies.
Rafael Cabral (Napoli):
Hailing from Sorocaba and through the youth ranks of Santos, Rafael was highly rated at Brazil. He made 94 appearances in just 3 years of senior football. The Brazilian moved to Napoli at the age of 22 during the summer of 2013.
Since then, he has made 45 appearances for the Italian Giants with 34 coming during the 2014/15 season. Anyone competing with Pepe Reina will struggle to get game time. Since the permanent arrival of the Spaniard, Rafael has struggled to make a mark at Napoli.
A reunion with Rafa Benitez may be on the cards for Rafael. Any decent offer for the 27-year-old can see him moving from Naples to St.James Park. Rafael is surely an upgrade to Darlow and Newcastle should seek a new goalkeeper before the transfer window closes.
