Newcastle United could bolster their attacking ranks when the transfer window re-opens in January, with the Magpies willing to pay close to €40 million to sign Ferran Torres from Barcelona.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Newcastle United could make a fresh attempt to sign versatile attacker Ferran Torres in a €40 million deal in the upcoming winter transfer market after failing to land the Barcelona star this past summer.
Torres’s tenure at Camp Nou has not really gone as he would have hoped. Ever since arriving from Manchester City for a fee reported to be around €55 million, the former Valencia starlet has struggled to establish himself as a first-team starter in Xavi’s thinking.
A return of just four goals from 31 La Liga matches last season was just not good enough. As a result, Barcelona were looking to offload him in the summer transfer window as they looked to reduce their wage bill.
The 23-year-old attacker was heavily linked with a departure in the summer, with several Premier League clubs, including Newcastle United and Aston Villa, circling for his signature. But the Spanish attacker was not at all keen on leaving Camp Nou just yet and wanted to fight for his place in the team.
To be fair, he has bounced back in some style in the new season. The Spaniard was one of Barcelona’s most promising players on the US pre-season tour and has scored two goals in three appearances off the bench in La Liga before shining on international duty with Spain, showing signs of rediscovering his goalscoring touch in the final third.
Although Torres has “expressed his intention to stay on more than one occasion” and will be looking to continue his good form, Barcelona are still not convinced of his productivity in the final third, given how much they paid for the former Valencia starlet. And they will be more than willing to sell him in the next window as long as they receive an acceptable offer in the wake of the financial troubles.
It seems Torres could be handed yet another opportunity to move back to the Premier League, with Newcastle open to paying €40 million for his signature in January. The Magpies are preparing for a notable return to the Champions League.
If that gruelling campaign impacts their form in the Premier League, then Eddie Howe may decide another versatile attacker is needed to ensure his team can compete on all fronts. And Torres is likely to be a prime target for the Magpies in that case.
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While Barcelona would welcome that kind of money into their coffers, the main task for Eddie Howe and co. will be whether they can persuade the player to make the move for their ambitious project on Tyneside.