James Perch In But Bigger Fish Wanted

He clearly did something right at Forest, he played almost 200 games for them after all, but he arrives in the North East with something to prove rather than an established star.

Newcastle, as was shown by the failed bid for Turkish striker Meslut Erdinc last week, do have money to spend, but I don't think they have very much. Landing Perch perhaps sets the tone for their rest of their recruitment plans.

He is a typical Newcastle signing under Chris Hughton. He is a good Championship player and, at 24, is at a good age to try and make the leap up in class. At £1m, he isn't expensive and his wage demands will have been reasonable.

And, as we know, at that age, even if things go wrong at Newcastle, the club will be able to sell him on somewhere, even at a small loss, which is the overall policy for business under Mike Ashley.

It is a policy which has worked pretty well so far, or at least it has worked in getting Newcastle back into the Premier League with all but Leon Best managing to have a positive impact on the squad last term. But this is a much bigger test for Hughton and for the conditions he has to work under in the transfer market.

What worries me is the fact he is described as a "utility player." That generally means he is a jack of all trades, master of none. It also implies he has been signed as a squad player rather than someone who is going to go straight into the first team.

Newcastle need more quality in their squad, not just numbers. The first choice eleven did really well to get back into the top flight at the first attempt, but it is also largely the same first eleven which couldn't keep them up in the first place which sets alarm bells ringing.

This is a positive move by the club. They have spent money, making a farce out of the official club statement released back in May which said there would be no capital outlay - a phrase referred to in legal letters sent to newspapers guilty of writing transfer speculation stories or linking them with players - this summer.

It is a signing that provides cover across the back four and it brings a young player to the club who is determined to show he is better than people have previously claimed.

But it is also a signing which whets the appetite rather than satisfies it. It is a step in the right direction, but leaps still need to be made before the close of the window in less than two months time.