Kevin Keegan has been dealt a huge blow with the news that Newcastle target Pablo Aimar has signed for Portuguese giants Benfica.
The Argentinian schemer was top of Keegan’s wanted list and Newcastle were confident of luring the 28-year-old away from relegated Real Zaragoza, but Benfica have snapped him up on a four-year deal for 6.5million euros leaving Keegan to look elsewhere.
With just two new additions to his St James’ Park squad, Keegan is desperate for new faces with the start of the new season just a month away. Only winger Jonas Gutierrez and midfielder Danny Guthrie have arrived in the off season and many pundits believe the Geordies will be battling against the Premiership odds if they are to make any impact on the top flight.
Keegan’s Toon are 5.8 to finish in the top six, while the unthinkable for the Toony army, relegation, is marked up at 22.0.
The Magpies have already been warned off making a move for Seb Larsson, while Dutch midfield enforcer Nigel de Jong has declared he is happy at Hamburg after Newcastle made their interest apparent.
But it is in defence where Keegan must be having nightmares. Newcastle conceded 65 goals in 38 Premier League games last season on their way to a 12th place finish and the men from St James’ Park must improve on that this term if they have any ambitions on reaching the top six.
With only Claudio Cacapa, David Edgar and Steve Taylor as natural central defenders it will be no secret that Keegan is on the lookout for defensive reinforcements. Reports have linked West Ham centre-back Anton Ferdinand with a £6million switch, but the England Under-21 star is not keen on moving away from his native London.
It’s certainly not an ideal scenario for Keegan, who knows that the whole football betting industry will be opposing them on Sunday, August 17 when they open their account away at champions Manchester United.
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