Steve Bruce Confirms Newcastle Have One or Two Transfers 'Bubbling Away'

Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has admitted the club are already working on securing new additions to his squad.

The Magpies ended the 2019/20 Premier League season in 13th place, the same position achieved in the 2018/19 season under previous manager Rafa Benitez.

Takeover talk has been rife over the past few months, but with progress at a standstill as Newcastle await Premier League ratification, Bruce has moved to reassure fans that reinforcements are already being sought under the club's current ownership.

“It’s imperative that we get a bit of business done, yes. And that’ll happen. We’ve got one or two things bubbling away, let’s see what we can do," Bruce said, in quotes carried by the Chronicle.

“I'm sure there will be a lot of names bandied about, but we've got one or two which I'll be delighted with if we can pull them off to start the summer. Watch this space.

"The addition of Saint-Maximin and Almiron, in particular, improved us so we've got a nucleus of a decent squad. We must now keep improving. If we add that two or three bits of quality to it then great. Let's see what we can do. All around, the squad needs improving and helping and that's my job to try and do that."

Speaking on how the global coronavirus pandemic could affect the market, Bruce added: “I can't see a big, huge flurry of signings very quickly. I think a lot of clubs are going to have to take stock of what's just happened in the world, so I think it will be quite slow.

The Magpies have been the subject of a spectacular takeover bid from a Saudi consortium worth an estimated £300m - though a deal is currently on hold while the Premier League decide whether or not to approve the bid.

The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has an estimated net worth of around £260bn, over ten times the net worth of Manchester City's Sheikh Mansour.

Should the takeover go through, it would revolutionise Bruce's summer transfer plans with more money expected to be available to spend. The window is now open for ten weeks, from 27 July to 5 October.