Newcastle United to swoop for £20m-rated attacker: Just what Benitez needs?

Newcastle United fans will hope their club will be busy in the coming transfer window as Rafa Benitez has done a fantastic job so far and deserves the backing to further improve the squad. One of the players latest reports are linking the club with is Bournemouth attacker Joshua King.

Reports from the Sun via the Bournemouth echo, state that the Cherries value him at £20 million and Newcastle could spend the fee to land the talented attacker who has had a pretty decent season.

Joshua King – Stats

The season is nearing its end and King has managed to make 30 league appearances. Of the 30 games, 24 have been starts and he has mustered six goals and three assists so far. Bournemouth have had another Jekyll and Hyde campaign and King, after a slow start to the season, has picked up his form in the last few months. He has had a start and stop season, so we haven’t seen his full potential this season.

His last 10 games have yielded four goals but he has shown the ability to play in different positions which could come in handy for Benitez next season.

What will Joshua King add to Newcastle?

A player who has a good burst of pace, King sort of embodies what Bournemouth are all about. He is the ideal player on the break and his ability to take on a player and beat him with his dribbling ability has helped Bournemouth pick up crucial points this season.

Howe has used him in an attacking midfield role and though he isn’t a player who can pick a pass, he gives you the drive from midfield that the Magpies could do with. He has scored four and assisted three from the attacking midfield position. A pretty busy player, he completes nearly two dribbles a game (1.9) and has also, remarkably, recorded a tackle every game which shows how tenacious he is despite playing in an attacking role.

Rafa Benitez likes playing with two holding midfielders and that’ll allow King the freedom to focus more on what’s in front of him. The step up from Bournemouth to Newcastle will be big as there will be expectations if he moves to St James’ Park. But he is fairly experienced now and at the age of 26, will be soon entering his peak years, so he’d be a good addition for a fee of £20m.