Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has provided an update on Newcastle United and their search for central defender Diego Carlos.
The defence has been the main issue for Newcastle to sort this January transfer window. With the club in possession of the second-worst defensive record in the league behind only Norwich City, it’s no surprise to see that area of the pitch being named as the ‘priority’ for Eddie Howe’s men.
One such man that Newcastle have targeted is Sevilla defender Carlos, with The Athletic noting at the start of the month that the Toon already had one bid rejected for him, though they would continue their pursuit through the window.
Speaking on Sky Sports News’ The Transfer Show, Solhekol was able to provide the following update as it pertained to Newcastle’s hunt for the defender, and it seemed as though things were moving in the right direction:
“I don’t want to jinx it, but everything I’m hearing is that progress is being made and this one is moving in a positive direction.
“We said some progress had been made, then I think everything went a bit quiet because obviously Newcastle has such an important game at the weekend.
“But again, today [Monday] I’m hearing that the potential deal is moving, talks are continuing. What is very crucial is that the player himself wants to move to Newcastle – this is even though Sevilla are second in the Spanish league at the moment; he wants to move to Newcastle.”
TIF Thoughts on Kaveh Solhekol’s comments about Diego Carlos and Newcastle United…
Will Newcastle sign Diego Carlos?
Yes!
No!
This all seems very promising for Newcastle, especially if Solhekol is right that Carlos appears to want to make the move, hinting that he’s fully on board with the club’s rather ambitious plans for the future.
Indeed, the defender is apparently expected to hand in a transfer request at Sevilla, following reports emerging since Solhekol’s comments claiming that the Toon’s latest bid for the Brazilian had been turned down.
Averaging 2.2 aerial duels won, 3.5 clearances and completing 88.2% of his passes this season (via WhoScored), it’s clear that he can bring something to the Newcastle side in attack and defence, so it’s imperative that they can make the deal a reality as soon as possible so that he can have an impact on the side straight away.
Otherwise, Newcastle risk losing more points and getting themselves deeper into trouble down at the bottom of the table.
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