While it would have been too much to expect Newcastle United to be busy over the course of transfer deadline day after Steve Bruce himself revealed there would be little business conducted on the incoming front a few days ago, some news delivered early in the morning was still a blow.
Indeed, Martin Hardy of the Times poured cold water over any speculation the Magpies could launch a last-ditch loan move for Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek in what was bad news for a Newcastle midfield well-stocked in terms of options but not dimensions.
The Longstaff brothers may back up first-team duo Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden – with Jeff Hendrick also capable of playing there – but it’d be hard to suggest any of the options differ from each other all too greatly. Aside from Shelvey – all averaged a similar number of passes per game last season (WhoScored) – and not one of them (Shelvey included) averaged more than 1 dribble over the same period.
So, what’s clear is Newcastle do lack a bit of drive from deeper positions. If Bruce is going to continue with the 4-2-3-1 formation that brought success over Burnley on Saturday, having another type of player to fill into one of the double pivot slots would surely been the next step in the evolution into making the Toon a better side to watch.
Statistically, Loftus-Cheek could well have been that player.
Though injured last season, the 10-cap England international’s numbers during the 2018/19 campaign do paint the picture of a man able to drive from deep. His average of 1.7 dribbles per game (WhoScored) beats anyone in black and white (he was up to 3 per game during his loan stint with Crystal Palace the season before) while his 21 goal contributions from 75 games in that position would have been a welcome addition to a Newcastle side previously struggling for goals. Alongside either a destroyer in Hayden or more of a creator in Shelvey, he could have helped the Toon bridge the gap between midfield and attack much better than their current options.
Experience in the Premier League has been one of the major criteria of Newcastle’s transfer strategy this summer, too. All of their first-team signings have proven themselves amongst the English elite with Callum Wilson, Hendrick and Jamal Lewis making pretty much instant impacts largely as a result of their top-flight nous. While clearly it’s no scientific guarantee of success, Loftus-Cheek would have again fit that mould so, within the confines of the club’s thinking this summer, would have made even more sense.
How he recovers from the Achilles injury that ruined last season remains to be seen of course but, given it would surely have been a loan deal, a move would surely have been relatively low-risk. With that in mind, the fact that Loftus-Cheek won’t be playing for Newcastle this season is bad news for the club. With the news coming early this morning, deadline day (as it so often is for Toon fans) got off to a bad start.