Why Newcastle’s Ashley should dip into his pocket again to sign Remy

Five goals in four starts, the ability to not only take chances, but also build the game from deeper positions and the knowledge that his parent club do not have him in their long-term plans; everything looks set up for Newcastle to sign Loic Remy to a permanent deal.

Since starting Remy, Newcastle have scored twice in all of their four games, having netted just once across their opening three Premier League fixtures of the campaign prior to this.

Only Luis Suarez and Romelu Lukaku can better Remy in terms of the average number of minutes it has taken them to score a Premier League goal this season, while only Edin Dzeko and Wilfried Bony have gone fewer minutes on average without having a shot on target.

This is all despite Remy not starting all of these games as a centre forward in the traditional sense, as he has often been stationed on the left-side of a front three, where he is able to cut inside to shoot or drift in-field to influence play.

It is currently costing Newcastle £2m to have Remy on loan for the season from QPR and his goals for the Loftus Road outfit at the end of the last campaign, means that no Frenchman can better the 26-year-old’s 2013 Premier League tally of 11 goals.

The consensus from QPR manager Harry Redknapp is that plans for the longer term do not include Remy, which increases the likelihood that he will be sold next summer.

Alan Pardew has indicated that another permanent attacker would be welcome in the squad, but that signing Remy would be “complicated”.

This could relate to chairman Mike Ashley being reluctant to invest any more money into signings and so Joe Kinnear may have a fight on his hands in persuading an additional £6m to be spent.

If this is unsuccessful, Newcastle may have to sell to buy, with Hatem Ben Arfa’s struggles with the defensive side of his game perhaps making him surplus to requirements or, Yohan Cabaye, who was close to leaving this past summer.

Newcastle’s odds are currently 10/1 to be relegated from the Premier League and based on Remy’s contribution to date, his availability will be critical to them beating the drop.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim three £10 free bets when you bet £10