Strikers on a potential free transfer this summer

[jonnyace1 30]

Dwight Gayle and Jordan Rhodes are both in last 6 months of contract- both could leave on a free this summer. If neither agree contract extensions we should snap them both up. If we can agree sensible wages with Gayle, he would start most games for me. With pukki and hugill, our striker options are full with no transfer fees required potentially.

Although pukki has 17 goals, he hasn’t been overly clinical. He could have had a hat trick at the weekend and four last night. His second last night was a stroke of luck. His first on the other hand was a great finish. Woeful penalty on other hand. I hope he scores in every game up to end of season- gets golden boot and proves me wrong.

If we go up (if not when!), I would send Idah and Soto on loan and have Hugill as 4th choice. That just leaves defence and midfield...
 

 

[king canary 8,763]

Rhodes again? Hugill is a far better option than him at this point.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,215]

14 minutes ago, jonnyace1 said:

Dwight Gayle and Jordan Rhodes are both in last 6 months of contract- both could leave on a free this summer. If neither agree contract extensions we should snap them both up. If we can agree sensible wages with Gayle, he would start most games for me. With pukki and hugill, our striker options are full with no transfer fees required potentially.

Although pukki has 17 goals, he hasn’t been overly clinical. He could have had a hat trick at the weekend and four last night. His second last night was a stroke of luck. His first on the other hand was a great finish. Woeful penalty on other hand. I hope he scores in every game up to end of season- gets golden boot and proves me wrong.

If we go up (if not when!), I would send Idah and Soto on loan and have Hugill as 4th choice. That just leaves defence and midfield...
 

 

Not really. The thing that is incredibly good about Teemu's game is his movement and his anticipation. As Emi took the shot he was already moving forward so that he would be in prime position to pick up any rebound from the keeper or the woodwork or any deflection from a block by a defender. If you watch Teemu closely you will see that this is something he does just about every time we have a shot from around the edge of the area. Most of the time the ball doesn't fall for him, but if it does he will be in the best possible position to take advantage from it.

As Gary Lineker often says - As a striker you make a run 10 times. 9 times out of 10 it doesn't come to you and nobody notices, but you keep on doing it because the other time it does and you will be in a great position to score. 

[TheGunnShow 7,379]

Pukki's second was reminiscent of the goal he scored against Leeds when we beat them at Elland Road. Went forward after staying onside, sniffing out rebounds, and sure enough, he got one after Vrancic let fly and it got charged down but rolled behind. Everyone thought he was offside to start with, but he was at least three yards on and had a tap-in.

Rhodes should not be near a top-flight side. Gayle would be well worth a look if the wages fit.

[king canary 8,763]

3 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Pukki's second was reminiscent of the goal he scored against Leeds when we beat them at Elland Road. Went forward after staying onside, sniffing out rebounds, and sure enough, he got one after Vrancic let fly and it got charged down but rolled behind. Everyone thought he was offside to start with, but he was at least three yards on and had a tap-in.

Rhodes should not be near a top-flight side. Gayle would be well worth a look if the wages fit.

No idea if it would be viable or not but the one I'd be keen for us to look at is Lookman if Fulham go down, he's a real talent. 

[TheGunnShow 7,379]

1 minute ago, king canary said:

No idea if it would be viable or not but the one I'd be keen for us to look at is Lookman if Fulham go down, he's a real talent. 

Doubt it. He's on loan from RB Leipzig and I think his contract there is until 2024. Won't be financially in our league.

[Move Klose 303]

It's not going to be any of those 2 that's for sure.

[king canary 8,763]

14 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Doubt it. He's on loan from RB Leipzig and I think his contract there is until 2024. Won't be financially in our league.

Unless they fancy another season on loan I guess.

[Beefy is a legend 224]

Not really in our remit to sign over 30's players who are undoubtedly on big wages. 

I would imagine that the scouting team is looking further afield for young, hungry types with scope to improve. 

[Crafty Canary 547]

Gayle has scored 34 goals in 96 appearances for Newcastle United so a bit better than 1 in 3. He’s 31 in October so would only be a single contract potential signing. Is he any improvement on Pukki? As for Rhodes he has no record worth speaking about at PL level so leave well alone.

We will need two proven strikers at PL level if we are to have any chance of staying up next season as I doubt that Pukki will score more than the 12 he got last season and that included penalties. Then there are the other key positions that will need investment Will the board spend the money needed? Probably not.

[Nuff Said 5,973]

But do we need an upgrade on Pukki, or an alternative *if* he’s not scoring? Quoting 12 goals in a season is misleading as you can only score if you get a chance, and we were dire after the restart. Taking his form over the season pre-restart, it was better than 12 goals a season, and pre-broken toe, it was better again.
 

When he’s on it, he is without doubt a PL quality player, but we need a Plan B. Could be Gayle, although I think I’ve seen his alleged wages quoted somewhere and they are way out of our league. Could be Hugill, could be some complete unknown from a far-flung country, who knows?  Not this board for sure.

[king canary 8,763]

11 minutes ago, Crafty Canary said:

Gayle has scored 34 goals in 96 appearances for Newcastle United so a bit better than 1 in 3. He’s 31 in October so would only be a single contract potential signing. Is he any improvement on Pukki? As for Rhodes he has no record worth speaking about at PL level so leave well alone.

We will need two proven strikers at PL level if we are to have any chance of staying up next season as I doubt that Pukki will score more than the 12 he got last season and that included penalties. Then there are the other key positions that will need investment Will the board spend the money needed? Probably not.

I don't think we'll be getting any 'proven' strikers at this level to be honest- I think we'll either be looking at someone from abroad or someone from the Championship. Someone to push Pukki for his starting place and not just be a bench warmer ala Drmic and I don't see Hugill being that.

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

I don't think age should be a reason not to buy a player. Obviously it would affect the length and type of contract but I do think a lot of good players are ignored because of their age.

[hepphep 175]

1 hour ago, jonnyace1 said:

Dwight Gayle and Jordan Rhodes are both in last 6 months of contract- both could leave on a free this summer. If neither agree contract extensions we should snap them both up. If we can agree sensible wages with Gayle, he would start most games for me. With pukki and hugill, our striker options are full with no transfer fees required potentially.

Although pukki has 17 goals, he hasn’t been overly clinical. He could have had a hat trick at the weekend and four last night. His second last night was a stroke of luck. His first on the other hand was a great finish. Woeful penalty on other hand. I hope he scores in every game up to end of season- gets golden boot and proves me wrong.

If we go up (if not when!), I would send Idah and Soto on loan and have Hugill as 4th choice. That just leaves defence and midfield...
 

 

Putting Pukki's lower goal tally to be all about him not being able to perform as well as before sounds bit silly for me, but it for sure seems to come up every now and then.

I'd more say that Pukki is kind of striker that is more clinical than most EPL strikers, but he needs service. He is not kind of striker that goes on dribbling from midfield and scoring goals by his own. I'd say this is misperception and due to the fact that we play bit differently as team now.

If you look some stats:

18/19 season, Pukki scored 31% of all the goals we scored in league

19/20 season, 42%
20/21 season (so far), 37%

As a comparison, in that EPL season, Salah topped scoring chart and his slice from goals of his team was 26%.
So in the sense, he is actually now playing even bigger role in scoring than he was in 18/19 and his goal tally during 19/20 was exceptional when considering total amount of goals we scored.

It is extremely important to remember that when we mostly weekly watch Pukki and see his missed chances that there is no striker in the world that scores from every chance 🙂

Otherwise, it would do no harm to have some other EPL level striker to support him and take off some pressure. Don't think that Gayle and Rhodes would be improvement to Hugill though.

[Branston Pickle 4,150]

I think we all like Rhodes, but he’s not a PL player - I suppose if things do turn sour and we don’t go up he’d be worth a look.

Gayle is another in the same camp - for some reason he’s just not really been considered a PL starter - remember a couple of seasons ago WBA swapped him for Rondon.  I guess he could be worth a punt though.

[Jerrykerry 223]

5 minutes ago, Branston Pickle said:

I think we all like Rhodes, but he’s not a PL player - I suppose if things do turn sour and we don’t go up he’d be worth a look.

Gayle is another in the same camp - for some reason he’s just not really been considered a PL starter - remember a couple of seasons ago WBA swapped him for Rondon.  I guess he could be worth a punt though.

Who is this we? 

Ah the delusional pinkun forum cuckoo crew. 

Rhodes is weak in the tackle, in the air, at tracking back, and influencing a game over ninety minutes. Everything pukki is good at. 

As evidenced by the fact Rhodes has been a bench warmer for the past four years. 

The obsession with him is based on some weird love in rather than any footballing reality. 

Which describes pretty much everything the regulars here post. 

[horsefly 5,301]

Speculating wildly, I can see us bringing in one or two from South America.

[king canary 8,763]

9 minutes ago, Jerrykerry said:

Who is this we? 

Ah the delusional pinkun forum cuckoo crew. 

Rhodes is weak in the tackle, in the air, at tracking back, and influencing a game over ninety minutes. Everything pukki is good at. 

As evidenced by the fact Rhodes has been a bench warmer for the past four years. 

The obsession with him is based on some weird love in rather than any footballing reality. 

Which describes pretty much everything the regulars here post. 

Oh god, take out the insults and I actually agree with you...

[Beefy is a legend 224]

1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said:

I don't think age should be a reason not to buy a player. Obviously it would affect the length and type of contract but I do think a lot of good players are ignored because of their age.

The fact is that it doesn't fit with NCFC's ethos to sign over 30's players for good money. Their value is only going to decline. 

NCFC's policy is to develop the best young players who are likely to improve and increase in value. 

As for whether the board will 'spend the money needed', we will spend everything that we can - the club doesn't have a massive wedge of cash sitting in a bank account. You only have to look at the club's annual accounts to know that we spend what income we get. It's just that most of it goes on wages which a lot of people seem to ignore. With all 'sins of the past' now paid up, we can expect to have much more scope this summer for wages and transfer fees. Some £14m already committed on Gibson and Giannoulis is evidence of that. 

[Rich T The Biscuit 676]

Not got any names to throw in to the mix but we need another similar to Pukki and another similar to Hugill.

Can't see Idah getting much of a look in so expect him to be loaned out.

I do like the look of Dhiedeou from Bristol City and Kiefer Moore from Cardiff, both aerially dangerous and when we were in the prem last time we had no plan B.

Unfortunately I can't see Hugill being a good enough Plan B

[Indy 3,474]

Wow if we’re looking at those free strikers at that level if we go up then it’ll be a very hard premiership season......

I’d be hoping we upgrade on Hugill too come the summer if we’re a premiership team!

Edited February 24, 2021 by Indy

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

23 minutes ago, Beefy is a legend said:

The fact is that it doesn't fit with NCFC's ethos to sign over 30's players for good money. Their value is only going to decline. 

NCFC's policy is to develop the best young players who are likely to improve and increase in value. 

As for whether the board will 'spend the money needed', we will spend everything that we can - the club doesn't have a massive wedge of cash sitting in a bank account. You only have to look at the club's annual accounts to know that we spend what income we get. It's just that most of it goes on wages which a lot of people seem to ignore. With all 'sins of the past' now paid up, we can expect to have much more scope this summer for wages and transfer fees. Some £14m already committed on Gibson and Giannoulis is evidence of that. 

I know thats the ethos but you cannot be rigid with any policy. If you need help in a window, such as a January one and someone is available, then age and sell on value is secondary.

[PurpleCanary 6,389]

2 hours ago, king canary said:

I don't think we'll be getting any 'proven' strikers at this level to be honest- I think we'll either be looking at someone from abroad or someone from the Championship. Someone to push Pukki for his starting place and not just be a bench warmer ala Drmic and I don't see Hugill being that.

That is exactly what I think we will be doing.

[Beefy is a legend 224]

9 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

I know thats the ethos but you cannot be rigid with any policy. If you need help in a window, such as a January one and someone is available, then age and sell on value is secondary.

Well that's true but at the same time you have no idea who our targets are. If our top targets don't come in then we may look at a more experienced option. But that would very much be the fall back position. Our primary position will be to go for players like Giannoulis - 25 years old, Europa/Champions League experience, scope to improve but with some top level experience already. 

 

[CDMullins 498]

3 hours ago, jonnyace1 said:

Dwight Gayle and Jordan Rhodes are both in last 6 months of contract- both could leave on a free this summer. If neither agree contract extensions we should snap them both up. If we can agree sensible wages with Gayle, he would start most games for me. With pukki and hugill, our striker options are full with no transfer fees required potentially.

Although pukki has 17 goals, he hasn’t been overly clinical. He could have had a hat trick at the weekend and four last night. His second last night was a stroke of luck. His first on the other hand was a great finish. Woeful penalty on other hand. I hope he scores in every game up to end of season- gets golden boot and proves me wrong.

If we go up (if not when!), I would send Idah and Soto on loan and have Hugill as 4th choice. That just leaves defence and midfield...
 

 

Its almost as if he's practiced being in the right place at the right time.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,423]

Toney. 😅

[lake district canary 4,835]

Am I the only one who thinks Soto will be one who pushes for a role next season?  He is 20 and if you are good enough you are old enough - and he looks to be a player who could make his mark when he gets a chance to show what he's got.

Idah will make his mark at some point too, I'm sure.

Hugill we haven't seen the best of yet, but was bought by West ham in the PL.

Pukki will still score goals - so Pukki, Hugill, Idah and Soto could be a potentially strong four to me.  No old players please, Gayle is not a has been but he's been round the block a few times. We should have younger players in to make their mark and on that point, Soto is an exciting prospect.
 

[Nuff Said 5,973]

2 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Am I the only one who thinks Soto will be one who pushes for a role next season?  He is 20 and if you are good enough you are old enough - and he looks to be a player who could make his mark when he gets a chance to show what he's got.

Idah will make his mark at some point too, I'm sure.

Hugill we haven't seen the best of yet, but was bought by West ham in the PL.

Pukki will still score goals - so Pukki, Hugill, Idah and Soto could be a potentially strong four to me.  No old players please, Gayle is not a has been but he's been round the block a few times. We should have younger players in to make their mark and on that point, Soto is an exciting prospect.
 

No, but you should be. Sadly this board is full of fantasists.

[king canary 8,763]

2 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Am I the only one who thinks Soto will be one who pushes for a role next season?  He is 20 and if you are good enough you are old enough - and he looks to be a player who could make his mark when he gets a chance to show what he's got.

Idah will make his mark at some point too, I'm sure.

Hugill we haven't seen the best of yet, but was bought by West ham in the PL.

Pukki will still score goals - so Pukki, Hugill, Idah and Soto could be a potentially strong four to me.  No old players please, Gayle is not a has been but he's been round the block a few times. We should have younger players in to make their mark and on that point, Soto is an exciting prospect.
 

Soto hsa so far struggled to make an impact at u23 level since his return so I wouldn't bank on it- I'm sure Farke will use preseason to assess him and allow him to state a case though as he did with Cantwell last time we went up. 

Gut feeling is him and Idah could both do with a season on loan in the Championship to get used to playing week in week out. 

[NFN FC 1,142]

That Haaland fella looks decent