‘Technically very gifted’: Andres Iniesta pays tribute to reported Newcastle target

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Newcastle United reportedly want to bring Arturo Vidal to the Premier League with his time at La Liga giants Barcelona coming to an end.

Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta has paid a gushing tribute to ‘great player’ Arturo Vidal amid speculation linking the Camp Nou star with a move to Newcastle United,while  speaking to CDF.

The 115-time Chilean international might be one of the most successful players in the modern game, lifting 20 trophies with Juventus, Bayern Munich and the kings of Catalonia, but it is fair to say his 2018 move to the Spanish giant raised plenty of eyebrows.

After all, Vidal is hardly a midfielder with ‘Barca blood’ running through his veins.

A dynamic, box-to-box enforcer rather than a cerebral ball-player a la Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets, Barcelona’s decision to sign a 32-year-old veteran was, in the eyes of many, another maddening betrayal of the club’s Cruyffian principles.

And the purists will be pleased to learn that, according to Marca, Vidal’s Barca career is coming to an end. Newcastle are chasing marquee signings to mark an exciting new era, and reports suggest that the big-name Magpies target is the only player in Quique Setien’s squad who is actively pushing for a summer exit.

However, while Vidal has divided fans and pundits alike in blue and red, you will never hear the gracious Iniesta saying a bad word about his fellow midfielder.

“Arturo is a great player. About the Barca style, everyone has their opinion. I think that a great player like him obviously has a place at Barca, as he has shown,” the 2010 World Cup winner says of a man who has started just eight La Liga games this season.

“Vidal is a player who runs a lot, who attacks, who defends, who links well. And he is also a physically very strong player.

“I agree with (Vidal’s former Bayern Munich boss) Pep Guardiola that Arturo is technically a very gifted player and is perfectly suited to play for a team like Barcelona.”

Vidal earns £155,000-a-week at the Camp Nou and, while that would make him Newcastle’s highest earner by some distance, such a sum would barely take a dent out of Mohammed Bin Salman’s bank balance.