The Shields Gazette reporter Liam Kennedy has been discussing the possibility of Newcastle United signing Nabil Bentaleb from Schalke 04 permanently.
Newcastle signed the Algerian midfielder on loan in the January transfer window and he made 12 Premier League appearances for the Toon (per WhoScored).
According to Kicker, as cited by Sport Witness, Steve Bruce’s side will not use a €10m (£9m) option they had to sign the 25-year-old player but believe they could now sign Bentaleb for €5/6m (£4.5/5.4m).
So, in a recent episode of NUFC Matters on YouTube, Kennedy made an appearance and discussed the rumoured permanent transfer of the midfielder.
He said: “You know what? It wouldn’t surprise [me] if [a deal to sign Bentaleb was done]. There’s a number of different reasons why it might not happen.
“One of them would be that he was on significant wages. Were he to come in to Newcastle on his Schalke wages, he would be one of the top two or three earners at the football club.
“He’s cheap, but he would have to take a massive wage cut, because he was on between 80-90 grand a week at Schalke – that’s incredible money for a player who’s shown what, exactly? He hasn’t shown anything to me in a black and white shirt.
“You’d probably rather have a kid from the reserves playing ahead of him, to be honest, but there’s a caveat to this as in, I think Steve Bruce quite liked him.
“It’s not one I’ve heard, but it seems to be one that’s doing the rounds in the German papers. Fingers crossed we don’t [sign him]. I don’t think he’s good enough.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, the permanent transfer is a move that he can see happening, however, he is hopeful that it does not happen.
Would you be happy if Newcastle signed Bentaleb permanently?
No, he's not good enough
Yes, he's a good player
Judging from the fact that Bentaleb picked up a weak 6.47/10 average rating over his 12 league appearances and was Newcastle’s joint-ninth-worst performer (per WhoScored), it is clear to see where Kennedy is coming from.
Especially if the Algerian would be one of the top earners at the Toon, then perhaps the St. James’ Park faithful will also have their fingers crossed that a deal does not happen.