5 strikers Newcastle United should target this summer

Newcastle United‘s 2012-13 season was the result of a comedy of errors, right from board room mistakes to injury crisis to failures in execution at the ground level. When the bits are dissected and the horrors re-lived, one simple thing becomes apparent. The squad was out too thin to endure the abrasion of a season that had them involved in the Europa League as well as domestic duties.

Demba Ba during his days at Newcastle United.

If that wasn’t bad enough, their highest scorer, Demba Ba (he finished as the leading goal scorer at the  end of the season), left for greener pastures in January. When the Magpies failed to replace him with a worthy name after the deal for Loic Remy fell through, it left them in a precarious position with virtually Papiss Cisse as the only real choice upfront.

Every one, from manager Alan Pardew to the casual Newcastle fan roaming about in the street, knows where the team lacked going into the summer. But with just over three weeks left for the start of the campaign, the Tynesiders have yet to get their much coveted forward. The breakthrough, however, seems likely to come in a few days’ time. Here are 5 choices that Newcastle should have a look at and have a realistic chance of landing.

5) Demba Ba

Ba enjoyed a stunning 18 months at Tyneside, scoring 29 goals in 54 games in the black and white of Newcastle. Only Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney have scored more goals in the Premier League than the Senegalese in the Premier League since the time he has plied his trade in England, and yet he remains severely underrated.

Ba, who now faces stiff competition from Fernando Torres and the ever-impressive Romelo Lukaku for the sole striker’s position that Mourinho plays in his system at Chelsea, may be plotting a move away from Stamford Bridge with this being a World Cup year. It would be like rolling back the good old days, as the core of Newcastle is still unchanged since his departure.

This deal is still highly unlikely, though. Newcastle won’t be able to afford either the wages or participation in the elite European competitions that Ba craves for.