da 888casino： Newcastle United ended a run of four straight Premier League defeats when they came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on Tuesday night, but Magpies manager Rafa Benitez may still be concerned.
da spicy bet： Even with the two goals – one of which was an own goal – in the west Midlands, the Tyneside outfit have still scored just 13 times in 14 top flight matches this season, and the experienced Spaniard will know that tally will need to improve if his team are to stay out of trouble this term.
United’s strikers – Joselu, Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic – all featured at some point during the clash against the Baggies, but none of them could find the score-sheet even if the latter did have a late effort ruled out because he was offside.
It means that they have just four league goals between this term, and with Mitrovic out of favour Benitez could look to sign a new centre-forward during the upcoming January transfer window.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente’s troubles are continuing with a lack of game time and goalscoring form following his arrival from Swansea City in the summer, and the Magpies may pull off something of a coup if they are able to bring him to St James’ Park in the New Year.
Here are three reasons Newcastle should look to sign Llorente in January…
Joselu isn’t good enough to start
At the current time Joselu is Rafa Benitez’s first-choice striker but his goalscoring record throughout his career – and so far this season – suggest that can’t carry on in the second-half of the campaign.
The Spaniard has scored just two goals despite the fact that he has started the Magpies’ last 12 Premier League games following his summer move from Stoke City, and some of his overall performances haven’t impressed the St James’ Park faithful.
With Dwight Gayle seemingly not suited to play up front on his own in the 4-2-3-1 formation and Aleksandar Mitrovic out of favour under Benitez, bringing in someone like Llorente in the New Year could prove to be a shrewd move.
His time with Swansea
While he is yet to find the net for Tottenham – albeit the majority of his 16 appearances have been late outings from the substitutes’ bench – following his move from Swansea during the summer, Llorente showed during his time with the Welsh outfit how effective he can be.
The 6ft 5in scored 15 goals in 33 Premier League games for the Swans last term to ultimately help them avoid relegation, and Newcastle may feel that he could make a similar impact at St James’ Park.
Dominant in the air, WhoScored.com also says he likes to do lay-offs, and his ability to hold the ball up and bring the likes of Matt Ritchie, Ayoze Perez and Christian Atsu into play could be a useful tactic for the Magpies in the second-half of the campaign.
He’ll want to play
While the 32-year-old decided to leave Swansea to join Tottenham during the summer, he may be slightly regretting his choice now.
As we mentioned previously, the centre-forward has largely been restricted to small cameo appearances from the substitutes’ bench, and with the age he is at he may consider a move away from Spurs in the New Year to play regularly and score goals while he still can.
With both Llorente and Benitez being Spanish the obvious link is there, but you can’t help that feel that the striker would provide a real presence and give opposition a problem that Joselu perhaps isn’t doing right now.
Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.