Newcastle hell-bent on devastating Barcelona by bringing Xavi favourite back to England
Newcastle are determined to sign a Barcelona star at the second time of asking and successfully bring him back to the Premier League, according to a report.
Barcelona’s squad is currently littered with a host of names familiar to Premier League fans. Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso and Joao Cancelo are in situ at the back. Cancelo’s former Manchester City teammate, Ilkay Gundogan, is starring in the middle.
In the final third, Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Joao Felix ensure manager Xavi never lacks for impactful options.
One of that seven in particular has repeatedly been linked with Newcastle dating all the way back to before the summer window.
Centre-back Christensen – formerly of Chelsea – was understood to be on Newcastle’s radar as far back as March.
Indeed, Spanish outlet Sport labelled Newcastle the ‘great danger’ to Barcelona’s hopes of retaining Christensen as a result.
A summer move obviously did not come to pass and Xavi is far better off for it.
A fresh update from Sport (as cited by Sport Witness), claims the 27-year-old Denmark international has been Xavi’s ‘most reliable centre-back’ this season.
Christensen has started 10 of 12 LaLiga matches for Barca this term. The only match Christensen has started in which they’ve tasted defeat was the El Clasico loss to Real Madrid on October 28.
Newcastle have seemingly taken note and per the report, are ‘still very interested’ in striking a deal.
The Magpies are labelled ‘very attentive’ to Christensen’s situation. While not stated, his Premier League experience as well as his Champions League pedigree through his stints at Chelsea and Barcelona could be invaluable to Newcastle.
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Barcelona adopt strong stance on sale
From Barcelona’s perspective, it’s claimed the club have no intention of selling a player who’s become an integral part of their backline.
However, Barca’s financial woes have been well documented and the chance to secure a sizeable fee for a player signed as a free agent will no doubt hold an appeal.
The report does not list how much Barcelona value the defender at. However, online outlet Transfermarkt offer a clue with their €40m (approx. £34.6m) best estimate.
Newcastle’s current options at the heart of defence are Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles. Dan Burn can also play centrally, though has proven himself far more useful at left-back.
Botman is currently sidelined with a knee injury that may ultimately require surgery to fix. With a European campaign to juggle, his absence has exposed how thin Eddie Howe’s cover at centre-back is.
Sport suggest Newcastle might try their luck a second time for Christensen in January, though conclude it’ll take an offer too good to refuse for Barcelona to say yes.
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