So far this summer, Newcastle haven’t exactly been the biggest spender many had expected.
Of course, signing Sven Putman didn’t come cheap – £35m to be exact – but unlike him, the Magpies have only signed Nick Pope in a £10m deal, while also chaining Matt Targett on a permanent basis.
However, there are more goals in the pipeline, and if Dan Ashworth can get two particular deals across the streak, Eddie Howe could have one of England’s deadliest three on his hands.
What’s the story?
Well, Newcastle already have Bruno Guimarães and they could soon reunite the Brazilian with two players who played alongside Lyon – Lucas Paqueta and Maxwell Cornet.
Regarding the latter, Newcastle were said to be ready to trigger a £17.5m release clause in his contract with Burnley, after Clarett was relegated from the Premier League.
Elsewhere, Newcastle are considering smashing their club transfer fee to bring Lucas Paqueta to the Premier League, a player close to Bruno.
In fact, the Brazilian has been closely watching his friend’s progress at Tyneside and thinks he is interested in joining him at St James’ Park.
So, if Ashworth gets that double-deal over the streak, the Newcastle trio will likely need no time to chip away at anything at all.
Bruno, Paquita and Cornet can thrive in Newcastle
During their time together at Lyon, Paqueta shared the field on 42 occasions with Bruno, while he and Cornet played together 31 times.
Paqueta and Bruno together helped Lyon win two points per game, a pretty impressive average, while he and Cornet earned 2.03 points per game.
The trio is clearly helping the team succeed in their efforts and not just playing for themselves, which should encourage Howe to seal the deal.
Cornet proved he could do just that in the Premier League last season with nine goals for Burnley, while Bruno also proved himself with five goals in just 11 Premier League games.
In Paqueta’s case, he has not been proven on these shores, but given that he was named the best foreign player in France last season, we are confident he will shine if he joins Newcastle.