Newcastle United defender Javier Manquillo is being lined up as a possible alternative by Italian side Lazio as they struggle in negotiations for Chelsea’s Davide Zappacosta, according to Corriere Dello Sport.
The Italian publication claim in their print edition (29/01), as relayed by journalist Aaron Stokes on his Twitter account, that the Blues are not moving in discussions between themselves and the Serie A outfit over the £80,000-a-week (source: Spotrac) Italy international and that the European side have identified the Magpies’ Spanish full back as another potential capture.
Lazio will look to wrap up a last minute deal for Javier Manquillo if Chelsea continue to play hardball over Davide Zappacosta, according to reports in Italy #NUFC #CFC
— Aaron Stokes (@AaronJStokes) January 29, 2019
Manquillo has been a regular in the squad for Newcastle this season, missing out on just two Premier League games, and has a total of 13 appearances under his belt this season.
Good move for Newcastle?
You can be certain that the Toon Army will not be complaining one bit about this one.
The Spanish full back has not impressed on either the right or left hand side of defence and there will be many out there who would be open to driving him to whichever club might actually put their hand in their pocket for his signing – even if that means heading to the continent with a trip to Rome.
It does seem a bit left field that Lazio would chase Manquillo this late in the window but if Zappacosta is not allowed to leave it seems they are keen on securing a new full back regardless.
A new replacement would be needed at St James’ Park but finding someone better than Manquillo should not be too hard a task.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
Unfortunately for Newcastlr fans it is likely this is too good to be true.
Manquillo appears to be low down on their shortlist and there are plenty of quality options who Lazio could probably snap up instead.
The Spaniard is much more likely to stay than to leave.
This is Futbol rating: 2/10