Newcastle United are set to raid the January transfer market for a creative midfield player, with the Daily Star reporting that the Magpies are lining up a potential move for Chilean maestro Marcelo Diaz.
The 28-year-old currently plays for German outfit Hamburger SV, who currently sit in ninth place in the Bundesliga – a significant improvement on last season’s 16th place finish.
Despite their improved performance, it is believed that Diaz is still looking depart from the Volksparkstadion in January due to a lack of first-team football.
Newcastle would be prepared to offer the Chilean star first-team football but face a potential stumbling block. Werder Bremen are interested in Diaz and are prepared to offer him a Bundesliga life-line. Like Newcastle, they are struggling in their domestic league and are desperate to bolster their midfield options in January, in order to boost their survival bid.
Die Grün-Weißen are also prepared to offer Diaz first-team opportunities and are likely to table a healthy pay packet to try and tempt him to make the 120km move to Bremen.
In order to tempt Diaz to make the switch to the Premier League, Newcastle’s board of directors may be forced to pay slightly over the odds – though this will be a common theme in January if they are to land their targets and improve their chances of survival.
