Eddie Howe is at the nadir of his time at Newcastle United. In the face of an injury crisis, the Magpies continued plugging away and were scraping massive victories against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
However, injuries and exhaustion, compounded by a relentless schedule have caused Newcastle to free-fall down the Premier League table, with a worrying number of key players underperforming in the famous black and white shirt.
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Nevertheless, the January transfer window offers Howe the chance to strengthen his squad and the manager is reportedly eyeing up a move for a prolific attacker from the division below.
Newcastle transfer news – Crysencio Summerville
According to Football Transfers, Newcastle are keen to make a move for Leeds United winger Crysencio Summerville before the transfer deadline slams shut. The outlet are claiming that the Magpies will have a bigger budget this month than many anticipated and the Dutch winger is seen as an affordable option for Howe’s side.
Summerville is having an extraordinary season at Elland Road. Prior to the 2023/24 campaign, the attacker had made 40 appearances for Leeds in all competitions, scoring four goals and recording two assists, earning praise from Statman Dave who called the Whites' winger "unstoppable".
This season, the 22-year-old has reached an entirely new level, bagging 12 goals and registering six assists in 24 games for the Yorkshire club.
However, having signed a four-year deal back in 2022, Summerville is said to have a release clause of merely £20m, making him an exciting prospect for a side like Newcastle in the transfer market who will be circling the player like a shark.
Crysencio Summerville’s stats this season
One of the biggest issues Newcastle have faced in recent weeks is an inability to create chances for star striker Alexander Isak. The Sweden international is the side’s top scorer this season, with 11 goals in 21 appearances. Unfortunately, the centre-forward has converted just two opportunities across his last ten league appearances.
The problem for Newcastle isn’t that Isak has been missing clear-cut opportunities. The Swede has averaged 0.78 goals per 90 from an xG of 0.79 per 90 and so has been quite clinical in front of goal. The issue has been how many chances the 24-year-old is being handed by those around him.
Miguel Almiron has been one of the key reasons behind Newcastle's issues up top in recent weeks. The Paraguay international has failed to record a single assist in his last ten outings for the Geordie outfit. Throughout the entire season, Almiron has managed to produce just one assist in 29 appearances in all competitions which is worrying for Howe.
Isak needs a player who is capable of putting the ball on a silver plate for him regularly. Almiron has proved this season that he isn't the man who can do this consistently. However, Summerville may just be the perfect fit and is outperforming Newcastle's number 24 in several key metrics in the 2023/24 campaign.
Goals
0.56
0.23
Expected Goals
0.4
0.27
Assists
0.28
0.09
Expected Assists
0.35
0.09
Key Passes
3.43
0.97
Passes To Final 1/3
1.94
1.79
Passes To Penalty Area
1.79
1.08
Crosses
5.24
1.04
Take-Ons Success %
52.6
33.3
Stats via FBref
Summerville is a clear upgrade on Almiron. The latter has played 164 times for Newcastle since joining the club back in 2019 and has registered 29 goal contributions. Summerville has 18 goal contributions already since the beginning of this season.
Given his release clause is quite cheap, Howe could miss a massive opportunity to add some real quality to his ranks by not signing Summerville before the deadline passes.
