Ryan Babel could be on his way back to the Premier League, with Aston Villa and Newcastle United reportedly keen on the Galatasaray winger.
Ryan Babel could be on his way back to England this month with Aston Villa and Newcastle United interested in the Dutch international, as reported by Turkish Football.
And before the cynics start accusing a winger who recently turned 33 of being ‘past it’, it is worth remembering that Babel certainly made his mark during a spell at Fulham 12 months ago.
The former Liverpool attacker was a rare bright spark in a miserable season for The Cottagers, netting five Premier League goals between January and May as Fulham were dumped out of the top flight.
Relegation-threatened Aston Villa and Newcastle are hoping to avoid a similar fate and Babel, who is playing the best football of his career well into his thirties, would add a touch of magic to a misfiring forward line.
Turkish Football reports that the 62-cap international has handed in a transfer request at Galatasaray, despite only joining the Istanbul giants on a £40,000-a-week deal last summer.
Newcastle have held talks, as have former employers Ajax, though Aston Villa are also understood to be interested in a player who could represent an upgrade on the erratic Mohamed Trezeguet and the inconsistent Anwar El Ghazi.
The very definition of a late-bloomer, the journeyman Babel is still more than capable of making a difference at the top level and, if he can replicate his Fulham performances at Villa Park or St James’, Premier League survival could be within their grasp.
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