Newcastle United Have The Perfect Player(s) Lined Up Post Champions League Qualification
Written By Onyeka Daniel
Newcastle United have had a magnificent season so far in the EPL this season after sealing a top four place which will see them compete among Europe’s elite clubs in the UCL next season.
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The Magpies and Eddie Howe appear to be turning their attention to the transfer window after Champions League football was guaranteed earlier in the week against Leicester City.
With this in mind, the club’s management are already looking at several players to beef up the squad ahead of competing in several competitions for next season and also be able to maintain that position on the League table.
One player who appears to be of interest is Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus who was linked with a move to St. James’ Park earlier this month. There was speculation that Vlahovic’s agent approached Newcastle over a move to England, and a fresh update has emerged in the last 48 hours.
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Vlahovic is 23 years of age and is an out-and-out centre-forward who only joined Juventus last year. He has scored 23 goals in 63 appearances with his current employers, previously netting 49 times in 108 games for Fiorentina.
According to reports in Italy, Newcastle, and by extension owners PIF, along with Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United, are all interested in signing the Serbia international.
It looks as if an exit is on the cards, and Juventus have even dropped their asking price to €70m, a figure which would match the current transfer fee Newcastle paid for Alexander Isak.
Isak and Callum Wilson have provided the goods in front of goal this season for the Magpies, netting a combined 28 goals in the top flight, but the club still want another centre-forward with the coach considering switching to a 2-man attack instead of a single forward that he has played with for the better part of this season.
Bayern Munich are also named as suitors, with Juventus needing to make one sacrifice over the coming months as they will probably not be playing in Europe next season and Vlahovic is expected to be that man that will be sold.
Also, they’re considering throwing themselves in the race for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who had been strongly linked with a move to PSG as part of their rebuilding process. The 22-year-old midfielder has emerged on the radar of several big European clubs this summer and there is a real race for his signature ahead of the transfer window.
PSG have moved on him in a concrete manner by tabling an offer worth €60m with the Portuguese club. The Parisians have also reached a verbal agreement with Jorge Mendes, who is the agent of Ugarte and is trying to engineer his transfer.
But he has serious Premier League interest in him as well and according to reports from France and Portugal, Chelsea and Newcastle are now ready to move for him. The two Premier League sides are interested in taking Ugarte to England and have touched base with the Portuguese giants. They have informed Sporting Lisbon that they are prepared to match PSG’s bid for the midfielder.
Meanwhile…
Coach of EPL side, Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi has opened up on the possibility that the club could lose two of their biggest stars, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister during the summer transfer window, admitting that “they deserve to play in another level” amid interest from rival clubs.
The Seagulls have qualified for Europe for the first time in their history but De Zerbi says he would not begrudge either player if they decide to leave. “When I work, I think for myself, I think for my club – but I think still for the players,” said De Zerbi before the 1-1 draw against Manchester City in a rescheduled game.
“The players have one career, one life and we can’t decide for them.” Brighton rejected a bid from Arsenal of around £70m for Ecuador international Caicedo in January, while World Cup-winning Argentine Mac Allister is heavily linked with a move to Liverpool this summer.
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The south coast secured European football with victory over Southampton on Sunday and De Zerbi hopes it will entice the midfielders to stay. Asked if Wednesday’s final home game of the season against champions Manchester City would be the pair’s last in Brighton shirts at the Amex Stadium, De Zerbi said:
“It can be the last game but I don’t know. They can have the possibility to change [clubs] because they deserve to play in another level. I don’t know what Tony [Bloom, Brighton owner] can decide. But now we can offer them the possibility to play in Europe because our level is bigger now. We can offer them one possibility more.” He further added.
Despite being rejected during the winter, Arsenal may still make another approach for Caicedo in the summer while Newcastle United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United are said to be eyeing a move for Mac Allister. Both players are expected to leave for nothing less than €70 million each.
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