Newcastle looking to add experience to squad this summer - Report
Newcastle United are close to completing their fourth summer signing with the arrival of Aladji Bamba.
Newcastle agreed a deal with Monaco for the defensive midfielder, believed to be around £34 million, and the Frenchman is already Tyneside-bound.
Should everything go as planned, Bamba will be the fourth signing of the summer for Newcastle and will join Sean Steur, Bazoumana Toure and Ewen Jaouen, all of whom are 20 years old or younger.
The Magpies are still in the market for a goalkeeper, a right-winger and at least one full-back, probably two and it looks as though the approach to the window may change as they look to bring these players in.
Newcastle are now looking at a new age profile
Newcastle are expected to bring in three or four new signings and are currently working on several deals simultaneously, while a couple more exits are still expected.
A report from Mark Douglas for the iPaper claims that the Magpies could now switch to players with a bit more experience to round off the summer business now that they have their young hopefuls through the door, with one insider saying that there needs to be balance.
“We believe we’re making some intelligent bets – but we know there needs to be a balance."
Experience doesn't necessarily mean we're going to be looking at players at the peak of their powers, but they may be a few years beyond what we've signed so far.
Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba will get plenty of experience next season
Interestingly, Douglas says that both Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba will be 'ready to go' for Newcastle's first team next season.
We expected Bamba to be in and around the starting lineup right away, while Steur may have to be more patient, but it sounds like both are going to be kept on the fringes; they should expect plenty of minutes regardless.
So we may not see their names in the starting lineup too often, but they should make plenty of appearances off the bench. In fairness, even with Sandro Tonali's exit, Newcastle still have some good options in the middle of the park, so they would definitely have to impress to break into the first-choice three.
