Matthias Jaissle will “push every day” for Newcastle United to make more signings after hailing the addition of Nico Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was unveiled as Newcastle’s seventh signing of the transfer window, and the second since Jaissle was officially confirmed as former manager Eddie Howe’s successor, ahead of their EFL Cup tie with West Brom on Wednesday.
Newcastle claimed a 3-2 win over the early Championship pace-setters thanks to a debut goal from Bazoumana Toure and a double from substitute Harvey Barnes.
The arrival of Gonzalez from Premier League rivals Manchester City in a £52million deal stands as the most important signing of the summer for Newcastle, with the former Barcelona and Porto man set to slot as the number six and become the leader of a midfield that has lost Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali this summer.
But with Newcastle reportedly looking to make additions further forward in the final days of the transfer window, Jaissle made it clear he is not fully satisfied with his squad as it stands.
“I will push every day,” Jaissle said when asked about the need for new signings in his post-match press conference.
Gonzalez made 59 appearances for City and, at the age of 24, has significant experience of Premier League and European football.
And Jaissle believes his combination of youth and experience makes Gonzalez an ideal fit for Newcastle, who earlier explored moves for older players in the form of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Joao Palhinha.
“We’re really happy to have him now finally here,” Jaissle added. “It was a long fight. I’m really happy because we continue our brave way with young lads, with talented players. Nico is young but also experienced, so I think this is a perfect fit and combination.
“He brings a lot of quality into the squad. This is very important, so we can’t wait to see him on the pitch. I’m really much looking forward to it.
“We want to continue our brave way, not bringing in some guys who are almost retired. We want to continue our approach, so we are bringing a young lad in with Nico, but already an experienced one in the Premier League, many, many matches on his statistics.
“He brings a lot of quality in possession, but also physically wise he’s also able to bring impact out of possession, so I think it’s a great addition to our squad.”
In terms of outgoings, Joe Willock has been linked with a move to Besiktas while there is talk of forward Nick Woltemade being loaned out a year after signing in a club-record deal.
Jaissle expects both to remain beyond the end of the window, though he left the door open when asked about potential departures.
“For all the players I expect them to stay,” Jaissle said. “But you know as well football is quite complex and things can change from one day to the other.”
