Summer (Transfer) Heat: Expect A Slow Burn

In a dream world, Newcastle United would have moves for Douglas and Mathieu Debuchy wrapped up early in the summer. We could enjoy the weather and avoid another couple months of being glued to our computers for transfer news.

Alas, it never seems to work that way, does it? And with Euro 2012 set to run from June 8 to July 1, progress figures to be even slower this year. Why would Lille sell Debuchy, its in-demand right back, before he gets the chance to show off his skills for France? Any player who will be competing in Poland and Ukraine next month likely won't be moving until the tournament's conclusion. And, as we all know, there tends to be a domino effect in the transfer market.

Newcastle's efforts to sign Douglas - a deal that's been rumored all season - have slowed because of questions about his contract and obnoxious agents, according to a report in The Journal this week. It's still a deal that makes a lot of sense, so it would be surprising if United wasn't willing to play the long game to land the hulking Brazilian-born Dutchman.

So here we are, staring down another summer of speculation and hearsay. Luckily, we've recently updated our summer transfer guide, which will give you the lowdown on Newcastle's rumored targets (the top graphic stinks, but we'll have a new one up soon).

Let the insanity begin ...

Comments

[Rob]

Debuchy is probably a great player but Santon is a RIGHT BACK! We need a LB so that Santon can truly play his best and help the team to the best of his abilities. Left backs that are right footed and right backs that are left footed hinder that squad both offensively as well as defensively. Imagine Santon on the right overlapping Hatem and be able to properly send balls into the box? Sigh, no one listens...

[M]

Can't see Debuchy coming.

1. price - he's an established player at an established club. There's no helpful clauses in his contract. Plenty of other clubs are interested in him. Not to mention the potentially price-inflating effect of the upcoming Euros. He ain't gonna be cheap

2. need - at RB we've got Santon. Tavernier. Perch and Raylor. What we need most is a CB.

3. fit - reports suggest that while great on the ball and excellent going forward, he's not so great defensively. John Utaka of Montpelier gave him a torrid time last weekend (so I read). Can u imagine Pardew starting a Debuchy-BenArfa combination on the right?

PS. Pardew referred to an attempt to sign a mate of Cabaye in his 'totalsport' local radio appearance. Most people assume he was talking about Debuchy. However, there's another close friend of his that we've been linked with in the past few months - Kevin Mirallas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Mirallas

[Tom]

Good comments, guys. I too question whether signing a right back - even a good one like Debuchy - makes the most sense, because I just can't see Santon being a left back long term.

The reason I wrote in a dream world Newcastle would sign Debuchy and Douglas early in the summer was more that I'd like the club to get its business done early - and if those are the guys they've identified as additions, then that's fine by me.