Newcastle closing in on deal for Luuk de Jong
It is open to interpretation as to whether Alan Pardew sees the 21 year old as part of a three pronged front three with Ba and Cisse or as a replacement for one of our Senegalese strikers.
But whether he’s a replacement or an addition, I see the approach for de Jong as an intelligent move.
The young Dutchman is growing as a footballer at a startling rate, having scored 32 times in 50 games last season. He scored 20 goals in the previous season, and 7 in the season before that. Such a surge in the number of goals he’s getting suggests that de Jong just keeps getting better.
Admittedly, the striker almost certainly wouldn’t match the amount of goals he gets in the Eredivise if he were to make the move to the Premier League. However, he’s a player who still hasn’t reached a stage of maturity in his career, meaning that he has a lot more to offer in the future. Therefore, I don’t see why we couldn’t aid de Jong into becoming an established striker in England who is capable of getting 10 to 15 goals a season.
Besides, as I mentioned in my Jose Salomon Rondon article, perhaps our striker to partner Papiss Cisse won’t be required to maintain a reputation as a prolific goalscorer. Cisse has proven to be a goal machine in England, terrorising dozens of defences. Therefore, whoever is his strike partner next season should have the primary role of getting on the same wavelength as Cisse whilst he, hopefully, continues to bang them in.
De Jong could also prove invaluable next season at the beginning of 2013. With Ba and Cisse leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations at that time, the 21 year old will ensure that we have some remaining fire power whilst our top scorers of last season depart. Whether he’s predominantly utilised as a regular starter of in a rotation system, I can’t help but think that Luuk de Jong could be a big part of another huge season ahead.
Current Ability: 3/5
Potential: 4.5/5
The Spectator's View 
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