It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that Newcastle’s United current midfield trio stands out not only as one of the best in England, but in all of world football.
The combination of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali offers a formidable mix of quality, physicality, grit and determination.
In fact, arguably the only thing tougher than playing our midfield trio right now, is trying to break into it, as the likes of Lewis Miley, Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock found out for much of last season.
But, with Longstaff nearing a £12m move to Leeds, a squad rotation option may be needed and it looks like a Championship talent could be targeted to fill that void.
Speaking in his Newcastle Confidential column for [The Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-14885263/Newcastle-United-transfer-news-Craig-Hope-Isak-Elanga-Trafford-Livramento.html), Craig Hope was asked about a potential replacement for Sean Longstaff now he’s nearing a move to Elland Road.
While names like Juventus’ Douglas Luiz have been linked this week, Hope highlights that Coventry’s Jack Rudoni looks set to be one of the names under consideration.
_“Newcastle like Jack Rudoni at Coventry. There is a feeling the 24-year-old is the best player outside the Premier League – this is shared by many scouts I’ve spoken to – and he will be on the list of potential midfield options_,” writes Hope.
The North East reporter also reports that it will be difficult for the club to bring in a big name or player expecting guaranteed starts with Bruno, Tonali and Joelinton enjoying prominent roles, meaning a move for a Championship talent eager to make the step up could be a realistic and relatively inexpensive route to take.
Rudoni is currently coming off a brilliant season with Frank Lampard’s Coventry City, narrowly missing out on promotion through the play-offs, and it looks to be only a matter of time before he makes the move up to the top flight.
Scoring 10 and assisting 12 from midfield, the 24-year-old was named the club’s Player of the Season. And although he has previously admitted he’s happy at Coventry and playing under Lampard, a move to St James’ Park could appeal.
Our current squad boasts some of the very best in the business in their positions.
However, it’s starting to prove to be as much a curse as it is a blessing, particularly as we’re trying to sign new stars.
We’ve already seen reports this summer than some strikers are less keen to join us due to having to compete with the irreplaceable Alexander Isak.
One would imagine for a player of Rudoni’s calibre and potential, there is indeed a risk of making the move to St James’ Park knowing just how hard it’ll be to try and displace any of our starting midfielders.
Throw in having to compete with Joe Willock, who’s highly trusted by Eddie Howe, and the prodigal Lewis Miley, and it’s a tremendous gamble for any young midfielder to make.
But the opportunity to player under Eddie Howe and be part of the Newcastle project is something that may be too good to turn down, particularly for a player currently in the Championship: if we can snap up Rudoni ahead of a club like Leeds where he has a better chance of starting, then it’ll show just how appealing Howe and the project to young and English players in particular.