Another youth signed?

Newcastle have apparently secured the services of 18-year-old striker/midfielder Mehdi Abeid after a successful trial with the club.

Who is he though? There really isn't much info available on the young'un apart from the fact that he used to play for Lens, is now available on a free transfer, and has represented France at Under-18 level. Pretty much another signing for the future then, which is good but we also need signings for the present.

As far as current signings are progressing, well, they aren't in all honesty but then again the season only ended a few days ago so it will be a while yet before we see anyone through the door at St James' Park.

Another name linked is 21-year-old Sierra Leone striker, Teteh Bangura who currently plays for AIK Solna in Sweden. The striker is apparently dubbed "the new Didier Drogba" according to the Daily Mail which I feel, at just 21, is probably a bit premature. Bangura has scored four goals in eight appearances for his current club.

That's two unknown players there to be honest, with not much information available on either. Never fear though as Alan Pardew still maintains that we are looking to add quality signings over the summer. At times the squad has been left wanting throughout the season, which is an area that needs adresssing if we are to push that bit higher up the league next year. This is something Pardew seems to recognise.

“We want to have better players next year, and get the maximum out of them. We’re in that process – that’s all I can say. I think it’s important we bring in quality players. We missed a lot of players this season,"
Pardew told The Chronicle.

“We need more quality players that can come in and make sure we win more games next year – it’s as simple as that.”

So it's looking like all systems are on standby at the moment. I wouldn't say they are on go just yet, but tentative signs of action are there. All we need to do know is firm up our interest and get those players through the door.

I make it sound easy, but of course it's not. I can still envisage a frustrating summer, even though we have money available. That is exactly the problem though - if I know and you know we have some cash then so will everyone else and it's only natural that they will want to exploit it to their advantage. It's also only natural that the club won't want to be exploited which is where I feel we could hit a brick wall when it comes to transfers.

Still it's nice to see that Newcastle are pressing ahead and are acquiring more youth players. We already have some excellent young lads at the club so fair play to them for trying to build on that. However, I'll end this article with a message that I've said once before, earlier on, and I'm sure it's a message that we all agree with.

Please, please don't forget the present!