Will Newcastle sign a free agent to bolster their forward depth?

There is no arguin injuries have undermined Newcastle’s outlook and results this season. The Magpies have been facing challenges from the start of the season with many of their top-level contributors either falling down injured or simply getting suspended for the full season.

Without having the possibility of signing new players last January during the winter transfer window given the FFP and the Premier League sustainability constraints, things didn’t get any better for Newcastle then.

And now, adding wood to the fire, Eddie Howe has also lost half of his natural-striker unit as Callum Wilson suffered a shoulder injury that will have him sidelined at least for two months if not the remainder of the season.

With the transfer market closed until mid-June and a slim-at-best roster, will we see Newcastle United play the low-club strategy of entering the free-agent market?

That’d be quite the sight considering the Magpies are now one of the richest clubs in world football, but everybody has to abide by the rules and comply with FFP stuff and such, so it’s not that having all the money of the world in their pockets serves the club any purpose.

According to the Premier League rulebook, teams can add new players via free agency through the end of March, which means NUFC still have a full month to think about that possibility if only to bolster a squad that is in dire need of a set of many fresh legs these days.

A potential addition rumored to be in Newcastle’s radar entering February was former Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle. Gayle was released by Stoke City earlier this month, but on Monday, Feb. 19, Leone One side Derby County jumped at the opportunity of signing him and that’s what they did, leaving NUFC on the cold and looking for alternatives.

Another potential target could be Lys Mousset, who was released by German club Bochum last January by mutual consent and has yet to find a club to finish the season with. Mousset already has a relationship with Howe, as he played for Bournemouth between 2016 and 2019 appearing in 58 games and scoring three goals.

Anwar El Ghazi, a winger with Premier League experience, has the fifth-highest market value according to Transfermarkt in their list of available free agents as we approach the end of February. He has been without a club since the start of November, however.

Finally, and albeit not playing any outfield position, there is David de Gea topping the market-value list of available free agents. The Spaniard, whose deal with Man Utd ended at the start of July 2023, has been waiting for the right situation ever since even though he’s still 33 years old (not-so-old for a goalie) although nothing has materialized. Martin Dubravka has played GK1 covering for Nick Pope, but de Gea is a probably a better goalie if NUFC wants to explore that avenue.

Even though it’s hard to envision Newcastle going all the way down to digging into the free-agent market, the truth is that there are never enough players available and warm bodies to fill a team, let alone one in the precarious status of the Magpies when it comes to the health of their players.