Newcastle ready to sign the new Hatem Ben Arfa

At the end of the day, Newcastle United have probably completed a good deal in selling Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal. The 28-year-old departs for a £75m fee, having immortalised himself through triumph at Wembley.

Farewell, Bruno. The Brazilian leaves St. James’ Park on good terms, and few of a Toon persuasion can really blame him for jumping ship after four-and-a-half years, two Champions League campaigns, one gold medal in the Carabao Cup.

He is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, in Europe, and had been the linchpin under Eddie Howe, who is also gone, along with Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak before them.

So many superstars taken from Tyneside. This has been a factory reset, and no mistake. Matthias Jaissle has his work cut out, and there’s no question that he needs to sign a maverick or two before the end of summer.

Why Newcastle need an X-factor signing

Bazoumana Toure, 20, has joined Newcastle for £43m, effectively replacing Gordon on the left wing. Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba, 18 and 20 respectively, have paved over holes in midfield, but these are emerging talents, players who must be guided to the fore over the next year or two or three.

Newcastle have lost a lot of flair in attack, and that needs changing if Jaissle is to instil his aggressive, front-footed tactics over the next few years, guiding the Magpies back into the ascendancy after last year’s 12th-place Premier League finish.

What they need is a maverick in attack, someone like Gordon or even Allan Saint-Maximin before him. In fact, if we scale further back, you could argue that Newcastle need someone with the X-factor of Hatem Ben Arfa, one of the most gifted dribblers English football has ever seen.

The one-time France international scored 14 goals and supplied 16 assists across 86 appearances, but it was the magic at his disposal that has cemented Ben Arfa as a cult hero.

The silky playmaker could have been a sensation for Howe’s Newcastle, stepping into far more stable conditions than during the Mike Ashley era.

Jaissle is fronting a new chapter, but he may well welcome a Ben Arfa-esque talent to Tyneside before Newcastle host Liverpool to kick off the new Premier League season.

Newcastle ready to pay wages to sign Bundesliga

Last summer, Newcastle completed a club-record £69m move to sign Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart. The German striker ebbed and flowed last year, but his potential is undeniable.

Newcastle want to try again, having set their sights on Stuttgart playmaker Bilal El Khannouss, as per German outlet Fussballdaten. He has been valued at €50m (£43m) and has been given the green light to explore a transfer this summer, should that valuation be met.

Initial offers have been made from a series of Premier League clubs. Tottenham Hotspur are also interested, but they are not willing to meet Stuttgart’s asking price, and the Toon are understood to be easily able to meet the 22-year-old’s wage demands.

The Moroccan international has emerged as one of the most exciting creative midfielders in Germany over the past year, previously struggling for a Leicester City side who have plumbed the depths of decline over the past couple of seasons.

His silky footwork is unmatched by most. For sure, Ben Arfa would give him a run for his money at a football freestyle pageant, and that’s why Newcastle must ensure they throw the kitchen sink at getting this deal over the line.

El Khannouss caught the eye with Morocco at the World Cup. He won plenty of duels and dazzled down the left channel, dribbling with purpose and style. It was a smart continuation of his form in the Bundesliga, notching nine goal involvements across just 19 starts, featuring out on the left and the right.

During the 2024/25 season, El Khannouss stood out for an imperilled Leicester team. He was a shining light throughout, creating eight big chances and completing 60% of his dribbles across 27 starting appearances.

If Khannouss as unrelenting a carrier as Ben Arfa was in his heyday? Perhaps now. Across the 2012/13 Premier League season, Ben Arfa completed 4.2 dribbles per game, mesmerising when collecting and driving at hapless opponents.

But this would restore a semblance of that style, providing Jaissle with a far more robust dribbler than, say, Gordon, who is as fast as they come, but more picky about when darting forward, ball at his feet.

Should he return to the Premier League with Newcastle this summer, the Belgium-born playmaker will encounter difficulties.

Jaissle’s project is bound to face teething problems, but by signing such a maverick and unleashing them down the flank and from attacking midfield, Newcastle could return to form with an exciting outlet who could get St. James’ Park rocking once again.