KEVIN Keegan will make Tottenham
defender Michael Dawson
his first signing of the summer
- provided Newcastle are
still playing in the Premier
League next season.
With Saturday's 2-0 victory
over Fulham having eased the
Magpies' relegation fears, Keegan
is plotting a summer rebuilding
programme that could
see as many as six or seven new
faces arrive at St James' Park.
The Magpies manager retains
the final say over transfer matters,
despite the appointment of
both Dennis Wise and Tony
Jiminez in recruitment-related
roles last month.
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With his side having already
conceded 57 Premier League
goals this season, Keegan's priority
will be to reorganise his defence.
Dawson will be his number
one transfer target, and sources
in London suggest the
Northallerton-born England international
is likely to be receptive
to Keegan's advances.
The 24-year-old has slipped
down the Spurs pecking order
following the arrival of former
Middlesbrough centre-half
Jonathan Woodgate, and Juande
Ramos has hinted that he will
enter the transfer market himself
this summer to provide
cover for Woodgate's preferred
partner, the injury-prone Ledley
King.
That would push Dawson even
further out of the picture, and
the former Nottingham Forest
trainee may well conclude that
his prospects would be much
brighter as a regular starter at
St James' Park.
Sir Bobby Robson came close to
signing a teenage Dawson before
the centre-half moved to
White Hart Lane in 2005, and
Keegan shares the former Newcastle
manager's high regard
for the defender's skills.
Tottenham are likely to demand
more than £6m for Dawson's
services, but with Magpies
owner Mike Ashley having
reaffirmed his willingness to
splash the cash this summer
following a season of chronic
under-achievement, Keegan
will be in a position to meet
Spurs' valuation.
The Newcastle boss will also be
overseeing a number of departures
from Tyneside this summer,
but while a proportion of
the playing staff will be
deemed surplus to requirements,
Keegan will fight to
keep coach Steve Round, despite
a likely approach from
Everton.
Everton boss David Moyes, who
has been working without a
number two since his former
assistant, Alan Irvine, left to
become manager of Championship
strugglers Preston last
November, has identified
Round as his ideal right-hand
man at Goodison Park.
Round, who worked alongside
Steve McClaren at both Middlesbrough
and England, is one
of the most highly-rated young
coaches in the English game,
and while Keegan was willing
to let Nigel Pearson leave last
month, the Newcastle boss will
do everything in his power to
prevent the 37-year-old also
jumping ship.
However, with Chris Hughton
having recently been handed a
wide-ranging coaching role following
his appointment to the
Magpies' backroom staff,
Round may opt to take up a formal
No 2 role on Merseyside.
Hughton's primary responsibilities
relate to Newcastle's defence,
and the former Tottenham
coach will have been
delighted to see United record
only their fifth Premier League
clean sheet of the season
against Fulham.
Abdoulaye Faye atoned for his
mistake against Birmingham
with an accomplished display,
and left-back Jose Enrique produced
arguably his best performance
since last summer's
move from Villarreal.
Enrique has struggled to adapt
to the unique demands of the
Premier League following his
£6.5m move from La Liga, but
having started Newcastle's last
four league games, the 22-yearold
feels he is finally finding his
feet.
"I feel I am getting better," said
Enrique, who helped Villarreal
win eight games in a row at the
end of last season. "It has been
difficult at times. Having one
game in the team and one game
out is hard.
"To have a run of games brings
me a lot of confidence and, little
by little, things are getting
better. For me, the first thing
you need to do is communicate,
and that's hard for people to
understand. Now I am learning
English, things are better."
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