He admires Lionel Messi, he’s been likened to Diego Maradona and – in what could be a boost to the hopes of Newcastle United and Crystal Palace – one of the rising stars of Argentinian football has now opened up on his desire to play in the Premier League.
The only problem is, from a Crystal Palace perspective, the £30 million-rated forward appears to be setting his sights a little higher than a team sitting 14th in England’s top flight.
But what about Newcastle United? Despite a rather underwhelming campaign – Newcastle are only four places ahead of Palace in the table – a difficult 2023/24 season feels like merely a pothole on the road to better days.
And Matias Soule, the Juventus-owned winger who has been a revelation on loan at Serie A rivals Frosinone, is exactly the sort of rising, potential-by-the-bucketload talent Newcastle’s billionaire Saudi Arabian owners have prioritised since releasing a long-suffering club from the clutches of Mike Ashley back in 2022.
Newcastle United and Crystal Palace linked with Matias Soule
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, both Newcastle and Crystal Palace held discussions in December. Palace, reports say, were willing to stump up a club-record £30 million bid, via intermediaries.
HITC Football has been informed that Soule may have reservations about a move to Selhurst Park – he can probably afford to aim a little higher after netting 10 Serie A goals in Frosinone colours – but the youngster’s obvious admiration for the Premier League means that Palace’s hopes are not dead just yet.
There is also interest from Southampton. Obviously, their hopes rest on whether Russell Martin can guide The Saints back to the top-flight.
“My future?,” Soule tells D Sports Radio. “I don’t know what I’ll do yet. It’s too early. I had offers from Saudi Arabia in January, but now I don’t have anything concrete.
“If you give me the chance to choose the league, I’ll choose England. (The Premier League) is one of the best in the world. It would be a dream to be there.”
A return to Juventus has not been ruled out, either by the player or the club. Soule’s future could impact that of Carlos Alcaraz, on loan in Turin from Southampton.
Juventus want around £30 million
Soule is a left-footed right-winger at his best drifting in from the flank like his World Cup-winning idol Lionel Messi. According to Claudio Ranieri, who’s Cagliari side were on the wrong end of a Soule set-piece stunner recently, the 20-year-old ‘shoots like Maradona’ too.
HITC have also been told that Palace boss Oliver Glasner is keen on Rapid Vienna duo Leopold Querfeld and Matthias Seidl. Newcastle’s summer plans, meanwhile, will again be dictated by those Financial Fair Play concerns, The Magpies missing out on the likes of Radu Dragusin and Kalvin Phillips in January.
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