Steve McClaren is hoping he can be persuasive enough to lure Dynamo Moscow defender Douglas to Newcastle, reports the Daily Mail.
The Brazil-born centre-back worked with McClaren at FC Twente before he joined the Russian side on a free transfer in the summer of 2013.
Newcastle could have their centre-back options heavily depleted this summer as two first-teamers could be leaving, and want to act fast to replace them.
The Toon infamously saw a deal to sign the 27-year-old fall through at the last minute back in the 2013, as then newly-appointed Director of Football Joe Kinnear pulled the plug.
Claiming he had ‘never heard of the defender’ who has just earned a call-up to the Dutch national squad having successfully applied for citizenship, and scrapped the deal after the player agreed terms to a Bosman transfer.
Then Managing Director Derek Llambias quit the club having spent months lining up a move for Douglas, only to see it be worth nothing.
A return to English football would be in the player’s interests as he looks to return to the Dutch international set-up following a three-year absence, and has been overlooked since a move to Russia.
