Mohamed Fares of Hellas Verona has been linked with Serie A giants Inter Milan and Napoli; not to mention Premier League side Newcastle United.
Newcastle United may be hoping that their latest Serie A-based left-back target is a little better than the last one.
Achraf Lazaar made next to no impact at St. James’ Park after joining from Palermo in the summer of 2016, making just four substitute appearances in their Championship-winning campaign before returning to Italy via a season-long loan spell at newly promoted Benevento.
But according to Corriere Dello Sport (4th January, page 7), Lazaar’s failure to adapt from Italy to England has not put Newcastle off from returning to Serie A for another young left-back.
The report states that Hellas Verona’s 21-year-old Algerian international Mohamed Fares is on the Magpies’ radar after a decent start to life in Italy’s top tier. Fares has suffered a few injuries but still managed to accumulate 11 Serie A starts.
And while he has not scored a goal or created an assist in that time, his solid defending and versatility has earned him plenty of admirers. Fares has started more than half of his games at left-back but has also played higher up the pitch, even featuring once as a centre-forward.
In fact, Fares has been so impressive that he has found himself on the radar of both Inter Milan and Napoli, who will head into the winter break with genuine hopes of challenging for the league title this season.
Current league leaders Napoli, who Rafa Benitez managed between 2013 and 2015, perhaps see Fares as a replacement for his Algerian international teammate Faouzi Ghoulam, who has been linked with a £54 million move to Manchester United, according to Mediagol.
So Newcastle’s under-the-radar transfer target could soon become a little more well known.
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