St James' Park (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)St James' Park (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
St James' Park (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Newcastle United transfer news: Toon plot swoop for PL striker, Bruce enters race for towering defender

Newcastle United’s mini-revival of late kept rolling on against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The Magpies left it late to snatch a point against last season’s champions at Anfield, with loanee Joe Willock once again proving to be the man of the hour.

Steve Bruce’s men are now unbeaten in four matches in the top flight, and are nine points clear of the drop zone with five games to go.

Next up for the Toon Army is a clash against struggling Arsenal, and any kind of result in that match would probably be enough to convince onlookers that they are assured of their Premier League status for next season.

One of Bruce’s more eye-catching decisions over the weekend saw him opt to drop Jonjo Shelvey back into the heart of defence, and the manager explained his thinking behind the move after the game.

He said: "Well, we just wanted him to stay deep,

“We wanted him to find a pass from deep to try and penetrate. We know Liverpool always play a high line, and it was something that we practiced, yes, to get Jonjo in a deep position to find a pass.

"Thankfully, it’s worked OK.”

Bruce also hailed goalkeeper Martin Dubravka for his display on Merseyside.

He said: "You know, when you come to Anfield, that your goalkeeper’s got to play well.

“He did that. We were sloppy at times, but fair play to the goalkeeper. In certain periods, he’s produced some really good saves, which obviously kept us in the game.”

We’ve gathered the best of today’s Premier League speculation involving Newcastle United and the rest of their Premier League rivals below...