Newcastle United have announced the signing of Lloyd Kelly, but were unable to get a deal for Tosin Adarabioyo over the line.
It has been a mixed start to the summer for Newcastle United, who confirmed their first bit of business on Thursday.
Lloyd Kelly will join the club on a free transfer on July 1st, much to the delight of Eddie Howe. They are set to be reunited at St James’ Park, having worked together at Bournemouth.
But while Kelly was more than happy to make the move up north, it was a different story regarding Tosin Adarabioyo.
Newcastle United missed out on Tosin Adarabioyo
The Magpies were also trying to sign Tosin, whose Fulham contract expires on June 30th.
It even looked like a deal was on, with Newcastle confident that they were going to sign the 26-year-old.
However, that confidence was misplaced, with Chelsea swooping in to snap up the centre-back. He is now a Blue, meaning Newcastle need to look elsewhere for a right-sided centre-back.
Don Hutchison states which signing is better
Newcastle had wanted to sign both players, but will have to settle for just one.
However, pundit Don Hutchison believes that the Magpies have actually signed the better player between Kelly and Tosin.
He has been speaking about Newcastle’s latest signing on the ESPN YouTube channel, and compared the deal to Chelsea’s move for Tosin.
“Well, they have signed Lloyd Kelly, who I think is a very good player,” he said.
“Tosin – where did Tosin go? Chelsea. I think Lloyd Kelly is a better player than him, so I think we have had a result there.”
Howe wanted Kelly more
In an ideal world, Newcastle would have signed both. However, Kelly was Howe’s first choice. He was the one player he really wanted, having worked with him before.
Of course, Tosin would have been a welcome addition, but the Magpies’ attempt to sign him merely seemed opportunistic.
Newcastle eventually need to bring someone in as a right-sided centre-back to take Fabian Schar’s place, and, on a free, it was worth taking a punt on Tosin being able to fill that position. But would Newcastle have targeted him if he was not available on a free? I do not think so. And that should tell you all you need to know.
Out of the two, Kelly is the better signing. He is low risk, while his versatility means he is going to be very valuable to Howe. In contrast, Tosin can only play in one position, while there are no guarantees that he would have gone on to become Sven Botman’s long-term partner at St James’ Park.
Hutchison is adamant that Newcastle have signed the better player, while Howe will just be delighted that he now has someone else who he can rely on and trust in defence. As for Tosin, it will be interesting to see exactly how much football he plays in a Chelsea shirt.
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