Why Newcastle Could Commit One Of The Worst Transfers Of The Summer If They Sign Wayne Hennessey
Newcastle United have been in search of a new goalkeeper to add to their ranks all summer and according to reports from the Sun, the Magpies have turned their attention towards Crystal Palace No.1 Wayne Hennessey.
There have been a lot of murmurs of frustration around the St. James’ Park of late, due to a lack of summer business to the extent what manager Rafael Benitez hoped to do. Yes, they have made some impressive additions in the form of Joselu, Mikel Merino et al., but the manager wanted more in the window and has made it known that he hasn’t been backed to the level he expected the club to do so.
One of the main areas that the Spanish manager wanted to improve was his goalkeeping department. It is not like the Magpies are weak in that position, considering that they have the experienced Tim Krul in their ranks along with last season’s no.1 choice Karl Darlow and Rob Eliott. However, Benitez doesn’t trust his contingent to deliver and has made Krul and Darlow available for sale, while using Eliott as his first-choice between the sticks this season.
The Toon have been linked with a number of names in the transfer window, but they haven’t been able to nail down a signing and now reportedly, they have identified Hennessey to address the area before the transfer window closes.
The Wales international has been with the Eagles since January 2014, when he moved to the Selhurst Park from Wolverhampton Wanderers, but has struggled to truly establish himself at the club. Since his move, the 30-year old has made 80 appearances for Palace, in which he has conceded 113 goals. He has managed just 21 clean sheets.
Yes, Hennessey has experience in the Premier League, having played over 130 games in the English top-flight, but he can hardly be considered as a consistent performer. He may be a capable option to have in between the posts but consistency is something that cannot be expected of him.
He has had regular ups and downs in his time with Palace (more downs than ups to be honest) and wouldn’t really represent a great upgrade on the options that Newcastle have at their disposal. The 30-year old looks error-prone most of the times and doesn’t really ooze confidence between the goal posts.
The fact that Palace don’t have a backup for him apart from the ageing Julian Speroni who has rarely played in the last couple of years, brings the question as well, of whether Palace would even be open to considering a sale at this juncture of the transfer window.
All in all, Hennessey would not be the best option for Newcastle and with doubts over Palace selling him as well, the Magpies would be better served looking at other options rather than wasting whatever little time they have left in the transfer window on a player who wouldn’t be an improvement on their existing choices.