Newcastle United finished 2024 on strong footing, winning five games in a row to reenter the ascendency in the Premier League and set up a semi-final showdown with Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
However, Eddie Howe knows that he needs to make some signings this year. The current purple patch merely underscores the talent and potential within this Magpies squad, but it’s not without its weaknesses.
Namely, United are searching for more firepower to complement Alexander Isak up front – with right wing likely to be the first port of call.
Newcastle hoping to sign wingers
Newcastle are aware of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules and will now want to awaken the beast with any overzealousness this winter, but they will act if the right opportunity presents itself.
Right wingers are indeed being looked at, with Sky Sports reporting that Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Antoine Semenyo, the Bournemouth star, have been shortlisted.
However, another rogue shout could be Antony. Caught Offside report that the Manchester United winger is open to leaving this month and has been offered out to a number of clubs on loan, including Newcastle.
In December, Antony’s agent Junior Pedroso revealed that while his client views himself as a long-term part of Ruben Amorim’s United team, he’s open to a departure if all parties agree that it would be a beneficial move.
There’s no hiding from the fact that the £200k-per-week Antony has fallen heavily by the wayside at the Theatre of Dreams, but make no mistake, there’s a player in there, capable of hitting his stride in the Premier League.
Why Antony could succeed at Newcastle
Manchester United broke the bank when they paid £86m to sign Ajax talent Antony in 2022. It’s fair to say he’s endured a dismal run as a Red Devil. Correspondent Samuel Luckhurst has branded him a “dreadful” signing and the lion’s share of the fanbase would echo such claims.
However, the Brazil international is skilful and creative, endowed with the athletic properties that are required to pass through the rigours of the Premier League. Moreover, he posted 22 goal contributions across 33 matches during 2021/22, his final season in the Netherlands, with a dynamic and combative approach suggesting that he could yet rise to the fore in England.
Newcastle would showcase an astounding level of tactical brilliance if they were to resurrect the 24-year-old, but with Howe at the helm, it truly could be achieved.
Antony’s Man United career began brightly with three Premier League goals in a row and he is capable of moments of class, arcing powerful shots into the corner from range, bamboozling defenders with quick, tricky feet.
Consistency has been the wideman’s chief concern, but Howe has already demonstrated through the acquisition of Anthony Gordon, who flattered to deceive initially and wasn’t exactly prolific at Everton but is now coveted as one of the Premier League’s finest left-sided forwards, that he has the Midas touch.
Gordon forced his way out of Everton to sign for Newcastle in a £45m package in January 2023, having scored seven goals across 78 matches for the Toffees after graduating from their academy.
He was an up-and-coming star, fast and ferocious but lacking the kind of potency to convince scornful rivals that United had secured a coup. Not that that mattered.
But he didn’t exactly dispel such claims after his first six months on Tyneside, saving his first goal for the club until the final game of the 2022/23 Premier League season, in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
Gordon’s first full term as a Toon talent emphatically changed the conversation around him, however, with the 24-year-old scoring 12 goals and adding 11 more assists across all competitions as he was awarded United’s Player of the Season award and earned an England call-up for Euro 2024.
His goal contributions were pleasing, but what attracted Howe in the first place was Gordon’s underlying data, maintaining a consistent ball-carrying threat while applying impressive defensive numbers. Indeed he ranked among the top 3% of positional peers in the Premier League for tackles won per 90, as per FBref, during his final year with Everton.
Moreover, the England star won 5.3 duels per top-flight fixture last year and averaged 1.6 tackles per game, as per Sofascore, making a telling comment on his effectiveness. Goals and assists are great, but he has skills that elevate the games of his teammates.
And therein lies Antony’s potential. The Brazilian is a player unto himself, so distinctive, if not always for the right reasons. But if he is to triumph in the Premier League, Newcastle might be the perfect stomping ground for him to achieve that feat.
He does have talent. As per FBref, Antony ranks among the top 6% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 14% for shot-creating actions, the top 11% for successful take-ons and the top 1% for tackles and interceptions per 90.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession
His natural defensive application offers shades of Gordon, while he’s progressive on the ball and an underrated playmaker too. The Guardian’s Barney Ronay described him as a “maverick” in 2024, though this was something of a double-edged comment.
It simply hasn’t worked for the Brazilian at Old Trafford, but that’s not to say that he can’t yet forge a successful Premier League career. Howe’s Newcastle system promotes attacking improvements – just look at Jacob Murphy and, once upon a time, Miguel Almiron.
Let’s not forget: The Times reported a few months ago that Antony had been eyed by Liverpool in the overtures to his Manchester transfer. Jurgen Klopp was leading the charge. We’re going to go out on a limb and say that Antony would have hit higher levels had he moved to Anfield.
Gordon arrived at St. James’ Park with clear potential but a lack of focus. Howe changed that. He can do the same again with Antony.
Now we wait. We wait until Newcastle show their hand in the January transfer window. Bringing Antony to the fold would no doubt be met with disbelief from many fans, but there was a reason why he arrived at Man United with such high stock, and hopefully now the positives circling a prospective Newcastle transfer are made more clear.
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Newcastle are ready to complete some signings this year.
