Newcastle target Wojciech Szczesny – who Arsenal sold – delivered a World Cup masterclass last night as Poland suffered a 2-0 defeat to Argentina.
The Poland international was seriously unfortunate to be on the losing side as goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez sealed the three points, although his efforts ultimately proved vital as his country reached the Round of 16 on goal difference.
What’s the story?
Well, it was Calcio Mercato Web who revealed that Newcastle could make a move for Szczesny to provide Nick Pope with a bit of competition, and Eddie Howe will surely be even more interested after last night.
As FotMob shows, the 32-year-old made a whopping nine saves against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, while also saving a powerful penalty from the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner during the first half.
Szczesny also completed 11 long-range passes against Argentina, and managed to defy Poland’s expected goals conceded, which was recorded at 3.19 after full-time.
That may not seem too significant, although Poland literally progressed from Group C by a single goal after Saudi Arabia netted a late consolation in their 2-1 defeat to Mexico last night.
Therefore, Szczesny – who Arsenal strangely sold to Juventus for just £10m in 2017 – proved to be the difference maker for his country, on a night where their talisman Robert Lewandowski was nowhere to be seen.
Overall, FotMob awarded him an 8.2 match rating – the best of any Poland player by some distance.
Newcastle should consider Arsenal outcast
Some may argue that Newcastle have no need for Szczesny with Pope already in between the sticks.
However, the Pole is clearly getting better with age, and the Magpies could actually sign him for a bargain fee.
Szczesny will only have 12 months remaining on his contract at the end of the season, and chaos in Turin – which has seen the entire Juventus board resign – means sales are looking very likely in order to balance the books.
Additionally, competition for Pope could take the England international’s game to another level, so it is certainly a deal worth exploring for Newcastle.
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