Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has offered transfer advice to Newcastle's new owners...

What's the talk?

The ex-England international believes that the Magpies should swoop for Norwich City right-back Max Aarons to bolster their defensive options.

Ferdinand has urged PIF to target talented English youngsters, naming Aarons and Chelsea's Conor Gallagher as examples.

Speaking on Vibe with Five, via the Gazette, he said:

“I’d be going mad for young, English talent. The best young, English talent.

“Max Aarons, the right-back at Norwich, Under-21 player. Conor Gallagher, straight in there. Get him in there. They’re two names, straight away, young kids who I’d say they’re coming into Newcastle. I want young, English talent."

Long-standing problem

PIF could solve a long-standing problem at St. James' Park by taking Ferdinand's advice and snapping up the £19.8m-rated Aarons up from Carrow Road in January.

Newcastle have struggled in the right-back position for a number of years now, with the likes of Javier Manquillo and Emil Krafth failing to impress under Steve Bruce.

Manquillo has played in four full Premier League seasons for the Magpies and never averaged a WhoScored rating higher than 6.59, which shows how uninspiring the Spaniard's time at the club has been.

Krafth, meanwhile, averaged a rating of 6.47 last season after managing 6.30 in his debut campaign for the club, as he has managed to perform to a lower standard than Manquillo. The last time a Newcastle right-back achieved a higher score than 6.59 over the course of a season was DeAndre Yedlin all the way back in the 2017/18 campaign, as he hit a rating of 6.75.

Yedlin earned a 7.05 during the 2016/17 campaign but that was back in the Championship, hardly a fair barometer. As for Daryl Janmaat, he earned a 6.85 in 2015/16 which has to be considered fairly average.

Therefore, bringing in Aarons could help to fix that problem. The England U21 international has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.70 in the top-flight this season, despite his side still searching for their first win. However, most importantly, he has the potential to improve at the age of 21, which could make him a better option than both Manquillo and Krafth.

Last season, Canaries boss Daniel Farke hailed that Aarons whilst acknowledging that he is performing in the present at the same time. The review typified why he could become their most eye-catching right-back for the best part of six years. He said: 

“In my eyes he is not the young Max Aarons, he is just a special player and he has an unbelievable future. I know he has been labelled as one of the best young players in this league. Well I told him we can reject this label now because he is no longer one of the best young players, he is one of the best players.

"When you are close to 100 appearances you are already an experienced lad. He is so young and he has to improve, and he will, but what he has done in the past two years is amazing. I cannot praise him enough."

This suggests that his average performance rating of 6.70 could rise significantly in the future if he is able to fulfil the potential his current manager believes he has. Therefore, he could end up being Newcastle's first-choice right-back for a number of years, given his young age and scope for development, and solve their issue in that area of the pitch.

It is now down to PIF to listen to Ferdinand's advice and make a move for the gem in the January window or next summer.

AND in other news, Deal offered: PIF making moves to seal first NUFC transfer, fans must be buzzing...