Former Newcastle United captain Kevin Nolan has warned that the club's recent transfer activity lacks Premier League experience, urging the new management to address this to help their young signings succeed.
Summer of change at St James' Park
Newcastle have undergone significant changes this summer. Head coach Eddie Howe left the club last week, with Matthias Jaissle set to take over. The club has also sold star players Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, while Arsenal have had a bid rejected for captain Bruno Guimaraes.
In terms of recruitment, Newcastle have signed five players so far, but the oldest is 24-year-old goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek. The others – Sean Steur (18), Aladji Bamba (20), Bazoumana Toure (20), and Ewen Jaouen (20) – are all at the start of their careers.
Nolan's concerns
Nolan, who scored 30 goals in 91 appearances for United, expressed his concerns to talkSPORT: "The biggest thing for me is that a lot of these lads who are coming in are not Premier League proven and I think that’s always a problem. When you have too many, sometimes it can come back and bite you."
He added: "So I feel like in the next couple of weeks we will hopefully see that they’re going to get some players in who are going to help them young lads to be able to settle into which is the best league in the world. You can only do that when you’ve got the experience of doing it, being in it week-in, week-out."
Nolan also highlighted the difficulty young players face coming from leagues like Holland, Germany, Spain, and France: "I’ve spoken about it on the show before, when these lads come over from the likes of Holland, Germany, Spain and France, they find it really difficult because of the intensity and the mentality. What’s needed to go and keep going again and that’s one thing which they won’t be used to at all."
Potential further signings
Newcastle could still add to their squad before the transfer window closes on August 1, especially if Guimaraes leaves for Arsenal. The Gunners' first bid was rejected, and United aim to keep the Brazilian on Tyneside.
