Tottenham transfer: Newcastle to make ‘sensational hijack’ attempt for top Spurs target after Almiron news
Newcastle United could make an attempt to ‘hijack’ a move for top Tottenham target Antonio Nusa amid reports Miguel Almiron could be sold.
Spurs have been heavily linked with Nusa over the past couple of weeks with one report in Belgium claiming that the Norwegian ‘appears to be on his way to Tottenham’ in January.
The report added that Nusa was now ‘very close to his dream transfer to the Premier League’ and that ‘barring any surprises’ Tottenham would complete a €30m deal and loan the winger back to Club Brugge for the rest of the season.
But transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently played down claims that the transfer is advanced and instead revealed that there had been “two meetings” between Tottenham and Club Brugge to discuss the deal with everything still “verbal”.
Romano told GiveMeSport on Monday: “We’re at the contact stage of negotiations for Nusa. Tottenham are speaking to Club Brugge. They have already had two meetings about Nusa. So, the negotiation is ongoing and, at the moment, everything is verbal.
“It’s similar to what happened with Dragusin before putting in an official bid. Tottenham work like this. They have a verbal conversation with the club, and then the official bid is there as soon as they know the offer will probably be accepted upon some final details.”
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And now Football Insider claim Newcastle are ‘discussing sensationally hijacking Tottenham’s deal’ for Nusa with the Magpies ‘eyeing up the 18-year-old as a potential replacement for Miguel Almiron’.
Newcastle and Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab are ‘yet to reach an agreement on a fee’ for the Paraguayan but Almiron has ‘agreed terms’ to move to the Middle East.
And now Club Brugge winger Nusa has been ‘identified as a potential target’ with Newcastle placing ‘a particular emphasis on signing young talent since their Saudi-backed takeover’.
It is understood that Tottenham are still in ‘pole position’ for Nusa with the Belgian side keen on a deal that allows the winger to return for the rest of the current campaign.
The Athletic‘s Chris Waugh has revealed that midfield is still Newcastle’s priority this window despite Eddie Howe hoping to sign players in other positions.
Waugh said in a Q&A: “The priority position is midfield. It has been all window and Joelinton’s injury has only heightened that need.
“I wrote about this at length, but what Joelinton’s absence has done is shift the focus from a No 6 to a No 8. What Eddie Howe desires is a powerful box-to-box midfielder who can win duels and offer physicality in the middle, just as Joelinton does.
“Ideally, Howe also wants another attacker and a goalkeeper, but there is an increasing recognition that, given their PSR constraints, Newcastle cannot conclude all the business they would like to, with a midfielder the present focus. That could change, of course, should an offer Newcastle simply cannot refuse arrive for a player in another position, which means they require replacing, or a long-term target suddenly becomes available for a reasonable price.”
