Newcastle loanee Valentino Lazaro’s representative Max Hagmayr claims he would “not to say” to a permanent move to St James’ Park for his client, as reported by Chronicle Live.
The Magpies signed the Austria international on loan from Inter Milan in January, following injuries to full-backs Paul Dummett, Jetro Willems and Emile Krafth.
The versatile 23-year old, who can play both as a right-back and a right-sided midfielder, has featured once since joining the club, playing 36 minutes against Norwich before the winter break (Transfermarkt).
Despite attracting attention from a number of European clubs last month, Lazaro opted to join Steve Bruce’s side in the Premier League, having struggled for consistent game time at the San Siro this season.
Speaking just a few weeks into Lazaro’s Newcastle tenure, the Austrian’s agent is already convinced that the player made the right choice, claiming he would “not say no” if both Newcastle and Lazaro wished to extend the player’s stay on Tyneside. Talking to Chronicle Live, Hagmayr said:
He’s very happy to be in Newcastle. It’s a top club. We also had very good talks with RB Leipzig and other clubs but we decided to go to Newcastle because Steve Bruce gave the boy a very good feeling and the talks and negotiations with Lee Charnley were good.
The other clubs also told him he would play – all the clubs said the same ahead of the European Championships – and it was not about money because he could have earned the same at every club. It was the small things that made you feel that this might be the right club.
It was how Steve Nickson [Newcastle’s head of recruitment] introduced the club and how they made the decision to go for Valentino. He was very well-prepared. They were checking Valentino and this gives you a good feeling. Not only that they like the player and they want him but they made the decision for him and that made him feel safe after the six months at Inter.
When I see Valentino now and how happy he is, I know we did a few things right coming here. We will see what’s going on in the next few months but first of all we have to live in the now. I would not say no [to a permanent deal] because we appreciate everything Newcastle is doing for Valentino.
Read Newcastle Verdict
Shortly after signing for Newcastle, Hagmayr claimed that Lazaro’s preference would be to return to Inter following the defender’s loan spell, despite Newcastle possessing a permanent option in his contract. However, fans could be forgiven for getting their hopes up following Hagmayr’s latest comments.
While Lazaro had only managed three league starts this season prior to joining Newcastle, the 23-year did play a major role for Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga last year.
The Austrian started 31 times in the Bundesliga for Berlin, scoring three times and assisting seven goals, with five of those ten direct contributions coming as a right-back, and the other five as a winger (Transfermarkt).
While I think it is too early to judge whether Lazaro should remain on Tyneside permanently, Telegraph Sport reports that it would cost Newcastle around £20million to land the defender, and given his age and his potential ability, and not to mention his Champions League experience too, I think it would be a deal worth exploring should Lazaro impress between now and the end of the campaign.
