da esoccer bet: Newcastle are reportedly interested in Charlton’s Macauley Bonne and although they need a new striker, the 24-year-old may not be the best option.
da 888casino: Steve Bruce has admitted he is happy with his squad and therefore Newcastle may only look to add Bonne if they believe he is the right fit, and though he works hard and scores goals, there is a question over his quality.
Six goals in his first Championship season represent a decent return so far considering he only cost £200,000 but this is his first taste of the second tier and therefore there are doubts about whether he’d be able to cut it in the Premier League.
Newcastle’s current crop of strikers have managed just two goals this term, with £40m man Joelinton so far not proving value for money at all. Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll are still yet to find the target either.
With that under consideration we asked our team of Football FanCast writers for their views on a possible deal for Bonne, and this is what they had to say.
Matt Dawson
“I’d be quite concerned if I was a Newcastle fan seeing this news. The Magpies are in desperate need of a striker that scores goals but targeting someone who has been somewhat inconsistent in the Championship is questionable business.
“Bonne has impressed at times, scoring six times, but he’s only just made the leap from non-league football to the second tier. It would be a big ask to expect him to perform at St James’ Park in such a short period of adaptation, especially when the pressure is so high in Tyneside.
“Joelinton has already been berated for his performances after scoring once so arguably, a player with Premier League know-how is needed to drag through Newcastle through the second part of the season.
“Landing the 24-year-old would be an interesting move but it wouldn’t be the right one, and that means Bruce must avoid this mistake.”
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Danny Lewis
“Macauley Bonne has been impressive for Charlton this season, especially while Lyle Taylor was out of action, as he has picked up a total of six goals. While there was a goal drought that lasted four games during this time, it should be considered that the striker has been playing in a severely injury-hit side. With all of this, he has taken his current step-up admirably, so it may be worth Newcastle allowing him to make another one.
“It is interesting that they have gone for Bonne rather than Taylor, with his age likely playing a part. Considering Newcastle are potentially producing an exciting crop of players, Bonne could play his part in that.”
Billy Meyers
“I think this would be a terrible signing, and would also only add to the number of struggling strikers Newcastle have on their books.
“Macauley Bonne – as much as he has worked hard this season – was playing non-league football last term and has only notched six Championship goals in the current campaign. He is by no means a Premier League player and is barely a Championship player in all honesty.
“Steve Bruce already has a man who has previously been deadly in the Championship within his ranks, Dwight Gayle, while he has a £40m forward in Joelinton to call upon – if the former Sunderland boss can’t get these two to score goals, then Bonne doesn’t have a chance.
“The personnel of the striking department at St James’ Park isn’t the problem, it’s the tactics – Bonne doesn’t seem like the man who can score goals off his own back by making chances out of nothing.”
Kealan Hughes
“Steve Bruce should be on the look-out for a new striker but making a move for Bonne at this stage of his career would be a bit of a gamble, not least because he doesn’t really fit into Newcastle’s style of play.
“He has poaching qualities but the Magpies already have Gayle who has even better attributes in that area, and yet he hasn’t really been part of plans this campaign.
“The only reason why this deal might make sense if because he could be available for a relatively low fee considering he didn’t cost the Addicks much in the summer, but in terms of improving the team he wouldn’t be the best option to make at this time.”
Newcastle could be in a more urgent need of a new attacker due to the injury to Allan Saint-Maximin, which may make like difficult for Steve Bruce.