Newcastle United may explore buying a center defender this summer due to long-term injuries to Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles, according to Eddie Howe’s recent comments.
The Magpies lost both players to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries last month, with a rehabilitation time of six to nine months. The best-case scenario is a return early in the 2024-25 season, but neither player may return until December.
United started Fabian Schar and Dan Burn together for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Everton, a combo that served them well in the second half of the 2021-22 season – but backup is scarce.
Emil Krafth can play center half but is now required as a right-back due to the absences of Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento. A same issue applies to Paul Dummett, who is out of contract this summer, after the long-serving defender replaced Lewis Hall at left-back before conceding a late penalty.
Alex Murphy, who is 19 years old, comes in below that senior experience. The Republic of Ireland youth international dazzled throughout preseason but has only played once this season, for three minutes against Chelsea on his Premier League debut in November.
In a summer when Newcastle would like to strengthen various areas, Howe has stated that the centre-back position is likely to be the focus.
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“When you’re missing players for that length of time, I think naturally that will impact what you’re doing,” Howe said. “You must consider your current situation.
“The good thing is that they miss a fair piece of the summer, so we don’t anticipate they’ll be missing too late in the season, but they will still miss a significant portion of that early half.
“Then, of course, how quickly can they return to top form? Two players for us, and significant characters we’ll miss.”
Newcastle will most likely field the same back four of Krafth, Schar, Burn, and Lewis Hall when they visit Fulham this Saturday. Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento, and Matt Targett remained sidelined at fullback, although their ailments are not expected to be serious.
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