Newcastle United find themselves backed into a corner right now. On one hand, they have lost far too much quality this summer. On the other hand, they have had a very tough time signing established names.
Following the departure of Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes this summer, it is clear that the Magpies need some proven quality and experience in their midfield.
It had looked like they had picked Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to fill those needs. But out of nowhere, it has emerged that the Marseille captain has turned the opportunity down, leaving Newcastle United scrambling for an alternative.
They do seem to have found a pretty good one. But once again, there is competition for his signature, and the Magpies might be trailing already.
Newcastle United accelerating talks to sign midfielder
According to a report from Football FanCast, Newcastle are now accelerating talks to sign Joao Palhinha after missing out on Hojbjerg. But they still face serious competition from Aston Villa, who are said to be in advanced talks to sign the Bayern Munich midfielder.
Aston Villa have been working on this deal longer and might have made more progress. Also, let us not forget that they have Champions League football on offer.
Newcastle United, on the other hand, won’t even be playing in Europe. And we have seen on multiple occasions this summer that they have failed to convince players to make the move to St James’ Park.
Hojbjerg might be the latest name on that list, but there have been others before. In fact, they have already lost out to Aston Villa once in this very window.
Newcastle United had agreed on a fee to sign Johan Manzambi from SC Freiburg. But the Swiss World Cup standout was not keen and ended up joining Aston Villa instead. Could history repeat itself with Palhinha?
Why Joao Palhina would be a good signing
Bayern Munich had paid a transfer fee in the region of £47 million to sign Palhinha following his impressive performances for Fulham. But he never found his feet in Bavaria.
So much so that he spent time on loan at Tottenham Hotspur last season. And now, he could be on the move once again, opening a possible window of opportunity for Newcastle United.
Obviously, the best thing about Palhinha is that he is Premier League-proven. So there would be no guesswork about how he would adjust to the physicality and pace of the English top flight. We know what he brings to the table.
And that is the kind of addition that Newcastle United right now. So far this summer, they have made signings who have never played in the Premier League and we have no idea how they will deal with that adjustment.
