Newcastle United now they have made a move to beat a number of elite European clubs to elite young talent as they look back Eddie Howe on the transfer market this winter, it was announced.
Newcastle want reinforcements
While their recent run of form and 2-0 win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup highlighted the undeniable talent in Newcastle United’s squad, they are still on the lookout for new faces.
Seven straight wins in all competitions saw the Magpies finish fifth in the Premier Leaguebut Howe is still not satisfied with his team.
The former Bournemouth boss is clearly still keen to add another defender to his ranks despite a raid on the Cherries for out-of-contract Lloyd Kelly in the summer, with his efforts to add fresh blood to the backline being thwarted at almost every turn in the last month.
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Tosin Adarabioyo was set to join the Magpies before Chelsea hijacked the move in the summer, before Newcastle were involved protracted and ultimately unsuccessful negotiations to sign Marco Guehi from Crystal Palace.
Ahead of the January transfer window, Howe’s team was linked with the signing of impressive Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanovbut the Uzbek defender now seems close to arriving at Manchester Citya move that will once again leave Newcastle empty-handed in the hunt for a new defender.
They have now turned their attention to another future gem, according to a new report, as they look to beat clubs across Europe to his signature.
Newcastle are negotiating around the £12m defender
This is claimed by the Italian newspaper TuttoMercato Newcastle have now joined the race to sign Juma Bah from Real Vallodoli this January in a bid to strengthen his defence.
The 18-year-old defender, who stands 6ft 5 and may still be growing, is on loan from Sierra Leone’s AIK Freetong and has made 10 appearances for his temporary La Liga club this season, attracting plenty of admiring glances and will tagged as “quality” on his side’s official X account.
His form has caught the eye of Inter Milan, according to the report, while adding that Premier League quartet “Manchester City, Chelsea, Bournemouth and Newcastle have all made moves for Bach”.
Any deal would involve Valladolid first having to buy Baha, before selling him for what would likely be a substantial profit, and the report adds that Valladolid are demanding €15m (£12m) to let him leave this January, although added that there is room for negotiation on this compensation.
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Juma Bah in La Liga this season [via fbRef] |
|
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
10 |
|
Goals and assists |
1 |
|
Yellow cards |
1 |
|
Passing accuracy |
86.5% |
|
Tackles and interceptions per 90 |
2.47 |
|
Spaces of 90 |
6.67 |
Still only 18, the defender would certainly be a signing for the future, not one to make an immediate impact at St James’ Park, but could fit into Newcastle’s policy of trying to sign players before they become superstars, something which they have had an excellent performance so far in the Howe regime.
