Newcastle United miss out on the services of Napoli winger
By Durim Halimi
Newcastle United have been dealt a blow in the transfer window.
Newcastle United are moving along in preseason with a squad that is largely unchanged from last season. The Magpies competed in their first preseason friendly yesterday, in which they cruised past Crewe Alexandra by a score of 3-0.
The Toon Army hope to see new faces arrive over the next few days to improve the overall quality of the squad, but there is some bad news on that front.
According to new information directly from Napoli, Mexican international winger Hirving Lozano will be staying put this summer.
Manager Gennaro Gattuso thinks the winger Napoli purchased for £34m from PSV last August can improve this season, and this is a major blow for Newcastle United.
Reports from last week claimed that the Italian giants rejected a formal bid from Everton because they favored a loan deal to Newcastle United, but that does not seem to be the case.
The Magpies desperately need to add another dynamic midfielder on the wing opposite of Allan Saint-Maximin. Adding another technically gifted player with quick feet and good field vision is a primary objective for the club as they aim to have more creativity in the final third.
Lozano, 25, is a versatile winger who fits the bill for the aforementioned criteria. Lozano only managed to score four goals and provide one assist in his first season with Napoli, but he was in fine form in previous seasons.
Prior to his move to Italy the winger found the back of the net 34 times and completed 16 assists in 60 Eredivisie appearances.
At the international level, Lozano has represented Mexico on 37 occasions and has nine goals and four assists to his name.
Newcastle United did well to identify Lozano on their scouting report ahead of the 2020-21 campaign, but it is unfortunate that he will not be suiting up in the black and white stripes.
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That being said, it remains to be seen if Newcastle United will roll up their sleeves and aggressively pursue free agent Ryan Fraser and Lyon’s talented winger Bertrand Traore – two players previously linked with moves to St. James’ Park.