Mention the name Steve Bruce on Tyneside, and it’ll likely see much rolling of eyes from Newcastle United fans, so news that the club may be in line to bring back a player that he brought in on loan only to sell at the end of the 2020 season isn’t likely to get the Toon Army too excited.
With Eddie Howe and his backroom team, alongside the new owners the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), taking the Magpies to heights that Bruce and Mike Ashley could’ve only dreamed about, anything that brings back memories of the time under the previous ownership and management will surely be frowned upon by the St. James’ Park masses.
However, the fact remains that the club are going to need a much larger squad next season as they ready themselves for an expected Champions League campaign to run alongside their Premier League season.
One of Howe’s tasks, that’ll continue throughout the 2023/24 campaign, will be to pick the right players for certain opponents, and to do that he needs multiple options.
It’s perhaps with that in mind that Nabil Bentaleb is being considered.
According to Competition, the Magpies have have already made an offer for the player to return to the club, with current employers, SCO Angers, only asking for a €7m payment in return.
That amount is a drop in the ocean for the Premier League club, and given that, apparently, Bentaleb has shone brightly in France’s Ligue Un this season, despite the fact his side are bottom, it could prove to be a great piece of business.
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