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This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

Newcastle fans have endured a tumultuous summer, but there could be light at the end of the tunnel if Steve Bruce gets his summer targets.

What's the story?

Bruce is expected to replace Rafael Benitez at St. James’ Park, as the 58 year-old resigned from Sheffield Wednesday on Monday.

And according to The Telegraph, Hoffenheim starlet Joelinton is likely to become his first signing, while The Northern Echo have claimed the new boss has sanctioned a deal for the Brazilian.

Meanwhile, 90min claim Bruce wants Everton duo Yannick Bolasie and James McCarthy.

Bolasie, who played under Bruce while on loan at Aston Villa, could form part of an exciting new front three alongside Joelinton and Miguel Almiron.

Pure entertainment

The one criticism you could fairly level at Rafael Benitez during his Newcastle tenure was that his side was often extremely defensive, even if that was partly down to the lack of attacking options at his disposal.

With Joelinton up front flanked by Bolasie and Almiron though, Bruce would have no choice but to play exciting football, as all three of those players have dazzling skill and excellent pace.

Now, there is a worrying lack of end product as far as Bolaise is concerned – he has scored just twice in 32 games for Everton, and only netted twice in 21 games for Villa last year too.

However, the 30 year-old does possess the type of skill that can embarrass defenders, and he’s not alone.

Bolasie averaged 2.1 successful dribbles per 90 minutes last season, while Almiron managed 0.8 and Joelinton completed 2 every 90 minutes.

To put those numbers into perspective, Rafa's duo of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon combined for 2 successful dribbles per 90 minutes last season, the same number Joelinton managed by himself.

With Almiron’s electric pace one has to imagine his number will rise significantly as he adjusts to the speed and physicality of the Premier League (he averaged 2.4 in his final MLS season), and the Magpies would then possess a front three all with the ability to skip past defenders with ease, which inevitably creates space for other forward players.

If Bruce’s plan is to get fans on side by playing rapid, counter-attacking football with a front three that loves to be direct and attack defenders one-on-one, he’s certainly going the right way about it.

The trio combined for just 12 goals last season, so their end product will need to improve massively, but there’s no question they will get fans off their seats, something that didn’t happen at St. James’ Park all too often in the Benitez era, despite his tactical brilliance.