Steve Bruce confirms Newcastle January transfer funds are available
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Friday 17 January 2020 19:30, UK
Steve Bruce has confirmed he has money to spend in the January transfer market following a "very, very good meeting" with owner Mike Ashley this week.
Although Bruce refused to be drawn on which players he might make a move to sign this month, Newcastle are interested in Inter Milan winger Valentino Lazaro with the Austria midfielder available for loan thanks to the imminent arrival of Ashley Young at San Siro.
"It went very well," Bruce said of the meeting with Ashley. "We just reiterated what I've been saying to you guys. We showed what we are trying to do and he was fully supportive of that.
"We've got one or two plates spinning and we hope we can add to the squad by the end of the month.
"What I've said from the start is that we've got one or two targets in mind and if they don't come off, then I'm not just going to jump into the [transfer] window just for the sake of it.
"They have to try and improve us if we're going to act. There's funds available if we need it but that's always been the case.
"He was interested in who we are looking at and which areas we are looking to strengthen and what type of player.
"He took a genuine interest in all of that, so it was a very, very good meeting."
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As for the possibility of new players coming in to bolster his injury-ravaged squad, Bruce added: "We've had one or two in mind and we will see if we can pull them off.
"Obviously, when you're going for big players there's a bit of competition along the line somewhere but we hope we can pull them off.
"We're trying everything we possibly can."
Bruce has received a welcome injury boost, with Allan Saint-Maximin in line to return after injury for Saturday's game at home to Chelsea - live on Sky Sports.
"We've still got a few [injured players] but we've got a few coming back, which is good," said Bruce.
"Particularly Allan, which is good news for everybody. Saint-Maxim's trained for the past two weeks and we hope he's going to be OK [for Saturday].
"We've been down to the bare bones. We've had something like 12, 13 players injured all at once, out of a squad of 23 with three goalkeepers. That tells you that you're in a little bit of trouble.
"We've had to rely on a couple of younger players from the academy but in a couple of weeks I hope that everybody's OK and we've got a few back."
Bruce also confirmed Swiss centre-back Fabian Schar should be available to take on Chelsea, although Paul Dummett could be out for an extended period after he was injured in the 4-1 FA Cup third-round replay win over Rochdale on Tuesday night.
Dwight Gayle (hamstring) is facing up to six weeks on the sidelines after he too was injured against Rochdale, while fellow striker Andy Carroll is struggling with a hip problem.
Bruce also admitted Joelinton has been lifted by scoring his first goal for the club in their cup victory.
Newcastle signed the Brazilian striker for a club-record £40m from Hoffenheim over the summer and after going close a number of times in the initial game with Rochdale, he finally got on the scoresheet in the second game at St James' Park.
"I said the other night, if you compare the first few minutes [of the game] to the last five minutes, that little bit of weight was just taken off his shoulders [after he scored]," added Bruce.
"That's certainly been the case in training. He's had a tough time so hopefully, like (Miguel) Almiron, when everybody kept asking me the question 'when's he going to score', hopefully the same thing will happen with Joe.
"We know he has got a lot of qualities, he's a still young lad and he has a lot to learn, but he will have learnt from how difficult it is in the Premier League.
"Let's hope now he can get that little bit of confidence which is why we played him in both cup ties [initial game and replay against Rochdale] to see if he could get a goal.
"He nearly got two or three down at Rochdale and thankfully in the last five minutes the other night he managed to score.
"Let's hope it does him the world of good."
