Pundit ‘underwhelmed’ as Newcastle should have ‘thrown money’ at duo

Darren Bent is “underwhelmed” by Newcastle United’s January business as they should have “thrown money” at Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard.

The Magpies signed five players during the January transfer window. Bruno Guimaraes and Chris Wood joined the club for significant fees.

Three defenders also joined Newcastle as they brought in Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Matt Targett.

Newcastle United have a mixed bag…and that’s probably enough

They were also linked with Alli and Lingard last month. The latter ended up staying at Manchester United, while Alli signed for Everton.

Bent believes Newcastle should have tried to “get in as many players as they could”:

“I am a bit underwhelmed. I thought a little bit more will be coming in at Newcastle,” Bent said (via The Mirror).

“All the talk was superstar players, we knew that was never going to be the case.

“But when you talk about the unlimited budget Newcastle have got…

“I thought that they would be throwing money here, there and everywhere and getting in as many players as they can.

“The likes of Jesse Lingard, who needs to go out and play football. Dele Alli is another one.

“I thought they would be throwing money [at trying to sign these two]. They are good Premier League players.”

Elsewhere, Chris Sutton believes Eddie Howe would have hoped to attract “more players” during January:

“I think that if you are saying, ‘Are these players an upgrade on what they have got?’ I think they are. No surprise to see Newcastle doing business,” Sutton said (via The Monday Night Club).

“I think they are better with these players in the team. Does it guarantee Newcastle survival? Absolutely not.

“[Kieran] Trippier was a big deal. I think Eddie Howe would have hoped he could have attracted more players.

“The truth is, Chris Wood is a necessary signing but you can’t say if you are a Newcastle fan you are going to be overly excited by that but if he gets the goals that keep Newcastle in the division it will be a good signing.

“[Bruno] Guimarães seems to have had rave reviews and looks to be an upgrade, I like [Matt] Targett. I thought he did pretty well at Aston Villa but with [Lucas] Digne coming in he wants to go and play so I think that is good business.”