There’s a lot to be excited (and nervous) for in the upcoming campaign for Newcastle United fans.
The return of Champions League football, being the defending champions of the Carabao Cup and another push towards the top four in the Premier League.
But there’s also the derby. For the first time since the 2015/16 season, we’ll be in the same division as Sunderland, as we’ll be preparing for our first game against the Black Cats since the 3-0 win in the FA Cup at the Stadium of Light.
Though things may just be about to get interesting between the two clubs, as Regis Le Bris’ side could be set to snap up a player Eddie Howe was once interested in…
According to reports on Wearside, Sunderland are weighing up a move for former Everton striker and current free agent Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
It would be just the latest signing in what’s been a frenetic start to their summer, as Sunderland have already spent over £80m on loan star Enzo Le Fee, Strasbourg’s Habib Diarra, Union Saint-Gilloise’ Noah Sadiki and Club Brugge winger Chemsdine Talbi, with Reinildo Mandava also expected to sign after leaving Atletico Madrid.
Calvert-Lewin could soon be the next name on their list of incomings, despite only netting three times in the league last season and missing 12 of Everton’s last 16 games.
Of course, we ourselves were linked with a move for the 28-year-old, but a £25m bid was rejected by the Toffees last summer.
And with every game missed last season, it looked like we dodged a massive bullet, as the former England international looks to be struggling to maintain any sort of goalscoring form or match fitness.
As evidenced by the last two seasons, where each promoted team has subsequently gone straight back down without much of a fight, Sunderland will be a bookies’ favourite to be relegated.
It’s what makes this bold transfer strategy so interesting, however. Making risky moves for unproven talents from abroad and bringing in the likes of Calvert-Lewin could prove to be either a masterstroke or colossal error.
It could be like Nottingham Forest when they came back up under Steve Cooper, or more like Luton in 2023?
Calvert-Lewin does have the annoying tendency to find the back of the net against us: with six goals in 16 appearances, there’s no club he’s been more prolific against.
But if after all this time and long-standing interest we’ve had in the former Everton striker we’ve now decided not to pursue a move for him, then we’ve likely done our homework and done well to steer clear. For now, all we can do is wait and see if Sunderland are about to make the biggest potential mistake of their window so far…