There is no way Newcastle United will spend £18m for this player
By Durim Halimi
Newcastle United will eventually spend some money this summer, but not £18m for a defender.
Newcastle United are now in week number two of their preseason schedule. After competing in one friendly – a 3-0 win over Crewe Alexandra – Newcastle United will be in action once again when they take on Championship outfit Barnsley in two days.
One key takeaway from the first week of preseason is that only one new outfield player was added to the squad, Jeff Hendrick. Technically, Matty Longstaff is also a new signing since he joined after his contract expired, but Hendrick is a brand new face in the dressing room.
Newcastle United are starting to cut it close with their transfer business as the first game of the season will be on September 12th. The team desperately needs to add a new striker, winger, and left-back in order to improve the squad and fight for a top ten finish.
According to a new report out of Chile (via HITC), Newcastle United have entered the race for £18m-rated defender Guillermo Maripan. The Chilean international is a talented defender who is making a name for himself in Europe, but the odds of Newcastle United even being in this race is a flat zero percent.
Why? Well, for starters, the Magpies’ summer transfer budget is only £35m, and it would be amazing if that sum is even reached based on the club’s current bargain hunt.
Secondly, Newcastle United will eventually spend some of that money, but it will undoubtedly be allocated toward attacking players who can, ideally, put an end to the current scoring woes.
The fact that Newcastle United have already tabled a bid for Greek international wing-back Dimitris Giannoulis, who is available for £4m, is a major hint that the report out of Chile is nothing more than a rumor.
Next. NUFC top target could be Joelinton 2.0. dark
When looking at the transfer fees for the defenders that start regularly for Newcastle United, and even including rotation players, their combined fees do not even come close to £18m. As mentioned before, the Magpies are true bargain hunters.