Journalist Luke Edwards has revealed on Twitter why Newcastle United will not sign heavily linked target Lucas Paqueta from Lyon in the summer transfer window for two important reasons.
Newcastle has enjoyed an incredible turn in form since the takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the introduction of new manager Eddie Howe over Steve Bruce. They managed to climb out of the relegation battle and push themselves for a top-ten finish, ultimately finishing 11th after looking doomed for the Championship.
A big reason for their improvement aside from the new manager is the injection of money they received in the January transfer window which helped them sign the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Matt Targett, and Chris Wood. This looks like this is just the beginning of their rebuild as they have been linked to numerous players in the summer already, including Lyon’s impressive youngster Paqueta.
However, according to Edwards, it seems as if the Magpies might look elsewhere for two key reasons despite the prominent rumours.
He wrote on Twitter: “Before I get off on holiday I don’t think NUFC will be signing Lucas Paqueta this summer. Too much money and not a position staff feel is a priority to fill. That was message a while back. Everyone one they’ve enquired about this week, price has been severely inflated”.
TIF Thoughts on signing Paqueta…
Edwards’ concerns are valid and could be the reasons why Newcastle do end up looking elsewhere considering they need to sign several new players at various positions rather than spending a large amount of money on one or two positions.
Despite the price tag and need for a number of players, Paqueta has shown he is a formidable player and someone that Newcastle would benefit from having on their side in that attacking midfielder role alongside Guimaraes and Joelinton.
This season he managed to rack up 11 goals and seven assists while averaging 2.5 shots, 1.3 key passes, 2.2 dribbles, 1.4 long balls as well as being fouled 1.7 times per game. His passing is also a key part of his game with 79.8% passing accuracy on 42.1 average passes per game. (Whoscored)
One underrated part of his game is his defensive work as according to Fbref the Lyon man is ranked in the 96th percentile of pressures with 23.67 per game, the 99th percentile in tackles with 2.89 per game and the 87th percentile for aerials duels. He has shown he can play on both sides of the ball and Newcastle could do with a player like that.
Should NUFC sign Paqueta?Yes
No
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