Newcastle United, fresh from selling Sean Longstaff and losing Joe WIllock due to an injury, have quietly developed a total lack of midfield depth.
Outside of the big three of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, Eddie Howe has very few experienced options to call upon ahead of a season which could see us play more than 60 games.
And sooner or later, we will have to look at finding fresh replacements for the Brazilians in particular, as both begin to push 30-years-old.
So it makes sense why a new report from Spain is linking us to one of the country’s top midfielders from last season, but he’ll be a very difficult purchase with such a competitive market nowadays…
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Newcastle are closely watching Spain and Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oihan Sancet, who’s attracting plenty of interest within the Premier League.
The 25-year-old, who is primarily an attacking midfielder, has previously been eyed up by Liverpool and Manchester United, but it’s now claimed Newcastle have ‘set their sights’ on signing the 6ft 2’ Spaniard who scored 17 goals last season.
Basque players notoriously command a hefty price tag, and Sancet looks to be no different: Fichajes claims we would offer around £60m for Sancet’s services, but his current release clause is closer to £70m.
Reporter Nacho Estrella Dominguez-Mompell comments that Athletic Bilbao “have no intention” of seeing their star midfielder depart, having become integral to manager Ernesto Valverde’s squad this past season, although it remains to see if a big offer would change that stance.
Fichajes, well aware of the ongoing situation surrounding Alexander Isak, has presented the idea that any money we receive from selling the Swedish star will be used to help fund any move for Sancet
We’re still anticipating Liverpool to return to the negotiating table very soon with an improved offer for Isak, expected to be above the British record fee that Liverpool spent on Florian Wirtz earlier in the window.
However, with how desperately we need reinforcements and depth in attach and defence over the midfield, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see us prioritise those positions before adding another midfielder to the mix.
Additionally, having our world-class trio currently in midfield is as much of a curse as it is a blessing: much like we saw with Liam Delap not wanting to join us to compete with Isak, there’s few young midfielders in the world football who would be keen to try and break into our midfield.
Add Comment