Newcastle: Eddie Howe eyes midfield duo with Premier League experience

Rúben Neves of Al-Hilal (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
Rúben Neves of Al-Hilal (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe wants to strengthen his midfield in January, so he’s shortlisted this duo with great Premier League experience.

Newcastle are currently going through an injury crisis. Although Eddie Howe is doing a remarkable job at keeping the team spirits high, he’ll be stressing behind the scenes with the growing injury pile. What’s worse is that many of the injuries are long-term, meaning the Magpies must scrape through and hope for no further injuries to their current crop of players.

But as mentioned, the team spirits are high. Helped by an impressive run of results excluding their recent Champions League outing, the injury crisis isn’t a results crisis by any stretch of the imagination.

Thankfully, the owners at Newcastle are competent. We’ve come a long way from when we were on the brink of relegation and the takeover has greatly improved the way our great club is run. With that in mind, there will be reinforcements in January.

When you consider that Elliot Anderson is out through injury and Sandro Tonali is out through suspension, our need to sign new midfielders in January is highlighted.

Click here for the Newcastle predicted lineup vs Bournemouth.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe targets Ruben Neves and Kalvin Phillips

Thankfully, a report by The i suggests that Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has taken his injury crisis into consideration and has therefore targeted two Premier League midfielders with Premier League experience. The report claims that both Ruben Neves of Al-Hilal and Kalvin Phillips of Manchester City are considered for January moves.

For the former, a loan move could be on the cards since both Newcastle and Al-Hilal are under the same ownership. However, a proposed rule change could prevent this from happening. The former is hoping for his spot in the England squad, so he could favour a move to Newcastle where he’ll be guaranteed first-team football.

Do you think Eddie Howe will sign Ruben Neves or Kalvin Phillips?