Newcastle join race for another target from Saudi Pro League who’d solve Howe headache in attack
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe
Newcastle United are showing an interest in signing Jota from Al-Ittihad if they will be allowed to take players from the Saudi Pro League, a report claims.
Jota joined Al-Ittihad from Celtic over the summer, but has struggled to find space in their squad. It has led to plenty of onlookers from back in Europe taking note of his situation ahead of a potential January change.
TEAMtalk has revealed that Tottenham are interested in reuniting him with Ange Postecoglou, but also that Celtic would welcome him back in Glasgow.
Now, an update from 90min has added Newcastle into contention for Jota’s signature, despite doubts over whether or not they will be able to do business with other clubs under the Saudi Public Investment Fund umbrella.
Newcastle have recently lost Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy to serious injuries, as well as Miguel Almiron to a hamstring issue.
It has left them short of wingers, which could prompt them to explore the transfer market in January for reinforcements.
With that in mind, they are now up against Tottenham for Jota’s signature, according to the report.
The 24-year-old remains open to solutions, the report explains, but would jump at the chance to play under Postecoglou again, which means Tottenham remain a strong contender for his signature instead of Newcastle.
Furthermore, if the Premier League votes against allowing clubs to loan players in from other outfits with the same owners, Newcastle would have to make a permanent bid for Jota.
Links between Newcastle and Saudi Arabia continue
He is not the only target they have in mind from the Saudi Pro League, since they have also shown an interest in Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves to help fill the void left in midfield by Sandro Tonali’s ban.
Funnily enough, TEAMtalk has learned that Neves is also the subject of a battle between Newcastle and Tottenham.
As for other business with Saudi sides, back in the summer, the Magpies also managed to sell Allan Saint-Maximin to another club in their stable by transferring him to Al-Ahli.
Barnes effectively came in to replace him after leaving Leicester City, but Newcastle are now quite limited with who they can call upon in attack – both centrally and out wide.
Something else they could consider is recalling summer signing Yankuba Minteh from his developmental loan spell at Feyenoord, but they do not want to disrupt the progress he has been making in the Netherlands.
Therefore, they might leave Minteh where he is until the end of the season and dip into the transfer market for the time being.
