In a quite depressing statement released by Newcastle United officials at a recent Fans forum, the club confirmed in no uncertain terms that manager Alan Pardew will be staying on as head coach, much to the disappointment of 99% of NUFC fans, and indeed myself. I am not going to dwell on the points made at the forum, but we haven’t been told anything new. The club want stability in the Premier League, no real involvement in any of the Cups, and will continue to remain fixated on acquiring the ‘right’ type of player to suit the recruitment procedure. There has been much talk about the proposed transfer budget that Alan Pardew will have to play with this summer, with Luke Edwards of the Telegraph claiming a figure of £60m at first, before amended his article to state that a considerable kitty is available. On that note, many of the respected local media have reported that Newcastle are making fast move to secure their targets before the start of the World Cup.

One of these targets is a certain Saido Berahino of  West Bromwich Albion. The 20 year-old Englishman burst onto the scene at the start of the season and drew much acclaim for his early performances, in particular, his showing against Manchester United at Old Trafford where the Midlands cub - alike ourselves - recorded a memorable victory at the expense of David Moyes’ men.

Berahino signed a shiny new deal with the Baggies in December of 2013, the same month in which he scored the decisive winner against Pardew’s side in a 0-1 loss for the travelling Toon Army. Despite that, Newcastle are reportedly very keen on bringing him to Tyneside as they attempt to reshuffle a beleaguered Newcastle United squad.

Of course it is worth noting that West Brom are currently on the look-out for a new manager as disposing of Pepe Mel so no deal is likely to happen any time soon, but then again, leave it to Newcastle to go for a player of a managerless side.

Saying that, he is an exciting prospect and providing an appropriate price could be agreed, he has the potential to be a very talented forward. I watched him a bit this season and he has flair and quite a bit of confidence too it seems, which is never a bad thing if you can back it up.

I would much rather we looked at the relegated sides to see if any good deals could be sought - Steven Caulker, Leroy Fer, Nathan Redmond, Alexander Ka?anikli? and so forth. Either way, we want new players and preferably quality ones. Rémy Cabella has confirmed that he will leave the club this summer, surely NUFC have to be heavily involved in deciding his next destination? Let’s hope so.

Comments welcome as always, and make sure to follow me on Twitter @KevinDoocey.

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