Fans have been sending well wishes and expressing their desire to sign left wing-back Jetro Willems of late. With Jetro, in turn, reciprocating the love. Paul Dummett and Danny Rose are both competing for the starting berth with Willems, so there's little to complain about on that side of defence.
However, during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns we've seen Javier Manquillo and DeAndre Yedlin trade places either due to injury or form. With the arrival of Valentino Lazaro came much excitement but we haven't seen enough of him to really make a judgement. In glimpses, he's showed real quality but also a weakness in defensive abiltity, albeit a trait not frowned upon in the modern wing-back role. Balance that with Lazaro's expected wages pushing our current wage structure limits, It would be a bit of a gamble. Emil Krafth has really failed to impress, or at least that seems to be the general consensus. As COVID-19 has halted the football calender, the suggested outcomes include games within a short period of time and playing behind closed doors. This makes it hard to accurately judge a players ability and thus value for money. Newcastle United need to address this position and it will be interesting to see the route they take if the takeover is completed. Yedlin (26) spoke with MLS.com and declared his ambition to end his career where it begun, in Seattle. Manquillo is reportedly receiving interest from Turkey with Fenerbahce readying a move, according to Fanatik. Manquillo has played 59 times for Newcastle, contributing 5 assists. Whilst Yedlin has notched over 200 appearances (208), contributing 18 assists and 6 goals in that time. (Source: Transfer Markt). Personally, I really like both players, but injuries and manager preference has hindered their consistency for us. Independently, they should be considered solid back up, in my opinion, but we cannot keep both of them. Personally I'd offload Manquillo and Krafth if possible. With all that in mind, who would you like the club to pursue? Perhaps a youth prospect and a first team signing? I've been playing too much Football Manager! Find me on Twitter @WRichardson7