High-flying Newcastle United are reportedly plotting a January swoop for Barcelona target Javi Galan and are ready to bid near his €18 million release clause in his current Celta contract.
Newcastle United are plotting a January move for highly-coveted Celta Vigo full-back Javi Galan. That’s according to Spanish outlet Futbol Total, which claims the English club could be ‘willing to offer an amount close to his termination clause’ to bring the Spaniard to St James’ Park.
The 27-year-old started his career with his hometown club Badajoz before moving to Córdoba, where he was switched from a winger to a left-back. He made his La Liga debut when he joined SD Huesca in 2019, but that side was eventually relegated last year.
However, he impressed enough and earned a cut-price move to Celta. Needless to say, the Spaniard quickly established himself as an undisputed starter for his new club, and enjoyed a solid season with the Galician outfit, entrenching himself as one of the best left-backs in La Liga over the course of the 2021/22 campaign.
He also caught the attention of Barcelona last summer as they looked to reinforce the left-back position in order to replace a waning, Jordi Alba. Now, cash-rich Newcastle United have joined the long list of his admirers and are willing to table a bid close to his reported €18 million buy-out clause.
To say Newcastle are currently exceeding expectations set upon them at the start of the season is a big understatement. The Magpies signed off for the World Cup break in style with a 1-0 thrashing of fellow top-four hopefuls Chelsea, courtesy of a long-range strike from Joe Willock.
They are currently sitting third in the Premier League table with 30 points after 15 games, four points clear inside the Champions League places, and have just lost once all season despite already facing five of the traditional big six.
Their resilient backline has played a huge part in their upsurge, however, Dan Burn continues to remain an odd figure at left-back. While the towering Geordie defender hasn’t put a foot wrong, there is a school of thought that Newcastle could benefit more from having a more vibrant, forward-thinking, ball-playing option.
Galan fits the profile like a glove. An incredibly quick, technical, and energetic player, the Spaniard stands out with his dribbling and crossing attributes, ranking in the top 99th and 86th percentiles, respectively, amongst his positional peers across Europe.
One of the best-performing defenders in Europe at present, the left-back is as reliable defensively as he is offensively, ranking in the top 95th percentile of full-backs for tackles won, 88th for passes blocked, and 96th for fouls drawn.
At 27 years of age, Galan is about to enter his prime years and could prove to be yet another bargain move if the Magpies can sign him under the noses of Barcelona.
A potential stumbling block, however, is the fact that Galan still has four years left on his current deal, and the Spanish club doesn’t want to lose him midway through the season. However, that will go out the window if Newcastle manages to convince the player to make a move and trigger the very reasonable release clause as they look to sustain their top-four push by adding quality in January.
