Fabrizio Romano has insisted that Newcastle United transfer target Goncalo Ramos is unlikely to move in January.
Newcastle were being linked with a move for Ramos during the summer transfer window as Eddie Howe attempted to bring in another striker alongside Callum Wilson, although they instead opted to sign Alexander Isak.
The Sweden international has two goals in three starts for the Magpies, but after seeing Ramos net a World Cup hat-trick, Howe may be regretting not signing the striker in the summer, when there was perhaps less interest in him than at present.
Ramos’ form out in Qatar may have reignited Newcastle’s interest in the striker, but Romano has admitted on his YouTube channel that Benfica don’t want to sell him mid-season.
Will Newcastle regret not signing Ramos?
Yes!
No!
He said: “For Goncalo Ramos, the striker of Portugal who scored three goals against Switzerland, he’s an important player for Benfica, and so as I mentioned on Enzo Fernandez, I will mention also on Goncalo Ramos – Benfica want to keep all their best players in January and then to see in the summer, so it’s not going to be an easy negotiation at all.”
TIF Thoughts on Ramos…
It’s no surprise that Newcastle strayed on the side of caution when it came to Ramos over the summer as he was largely unproven at the time having featured in just 59 games for Benfica across all competitions.
However, with Darwin Nunez having departed, Ramos has been the focal point for Benfica and is thriving with 14 goals to his name, including one in the Champions League, so the Magpies may well have had a rare transfer blunder under PIF, with the club seemingly not willing to pay the then-£34m price tag, which has now risen to around £70m.
Given that Howe now has Wilson, Isak and Chris Wood all wanting to start through the middle for Newcastle, bringing in a fourth striker in the form of Ramos for what would likely be a lot of money currently looks unlikely given how bloated it would make the striker department.