Newcastle set for deal of the summer with £5.8m swoop as reported Euro hunt ramps up

Sun 6 May 2018 17:38, UK

COMMENT

While fans of Newcastle United might not have seen as many new faces through the door in the last 12 months of transfer windows, the majority have certainly have had the desired impact.

Mikel Merino was seen as an absolute steal over the summer and although he has lacked the consistency desired after his dazzling opening appearances, at 21-years-old he certainly is a shining light both for the present and for the future.

Florian Lejeune has also impressed, albeit in a reverse of the Spaniard’s time on Tyneside, struggling in his first few appearances before getting up to speed and putting in some assured performances at the heart of defence.

January also saw the two out of three of the new recruits get off to the ideal start, Kenedy bringing a new dimension to the Magpies’ attack while Martin Dubravka took over as the club’s number one goalkeeper and helped turn them into a resolute outfit at the back.

As was confirmed when the 29-year-old shot stopper signed from Sparta Prague on loan, Newcastle have a purchase option in his contract, and with the Chronicle claiming that it will cost just £4million, on top of the £1.8million loan fee, they could be onto the deal of the summer.

His performances between the sticks have looked assured from day one and with convincing ability in both the air and with the ball at his feet, he has already proven his worth at St James’ Park – so much so that there is said to be a hunt of European sides, including from Germany and Italy, ramping up the hunt for his capture.

Newcastle are reported to have the first option to snap him up and it seems massively unlikely they would not take that up – and with goalkeepers offering the all round package in high demand, the deal at less than £6million could be a bargain to go down in history.