Newcastle transfer news: Everton charge Eddie Howe £100m for Fabian Schar injury backup
By Kian Long
Much like us fans, I would imagine that Eddie Howe is not best pleased with the Fabian Schar injury. Just as things were starting to look positive on an injury front with players returning, one of our most important players suffered an unfortunate blow which could rule him out until next year. That said, we can expect much of the Newcastle transfer news to centre around this as we approach January.
Defenders won't be hard to come by in the January transfer window, as it seems to be a buyer's market in this position. It wouldn't surprise me if Eddie Howe targets a new centre back in the January transfer window and not just to cover the injury, but because he needs to think about this position long-term with some of our stronger contenders in this position ageing.
However, the transfer plans at St James Park may be held back by the recent news that Newcastle will mainly focus on loan deals. This is because they are short in resources and unlike certain clubs in the league, they would like to be honest about their incomings so as not to breach FFP rules.
READ MORE: 3 Newcastle transfers which Howe must make in the January transfer window
Newcastle transfer news: Everton charge Eddie Howe £100m for Fabian Schar injury backup
This could mean that one transfer target in the centre back position is out of bounds, with Everton slapping a £100m price tag on Jarrad Branthwaite, according to iNews. This is silly money, and a transfer which we now aren't likely to make given our constrained resources.
I cannot help but feel like Everton are charging Premier League clubs a premium fee for the simple reason that Branthwaite is English. This isn't ridiculous of me to say, given the inflated price of English players in the transfer market of years gone by. He isn't worth that much and if he was playing in La Liga or the like, he wouldn't be half the price Everton have set.
What do you make of today's Newcastle transfer news?